Melody Wright and the Marauders Three
by aridancer
Summary: An American girl named Melody arrives at Hogwarts and befriends three Gryffindor boys who each have more to them than meets the eye. However, Melody may have more in common with them than she realizes. She feels immediately drawn to an intelligent, soft-spoken, scarred young man... Marauders OC. No Peter Pettigrew; very close to book canon. Disclaimer: I own nothing but Melody.
1. A New Arrival At Hogwarts

**[** A/N: This is a Marauders world without Peter. I know that he was actually an integral part of their group, and there are probably a ton of "Three Marauders" stories out there, but I wanted to explore the Marauders' era through the lens of my own OC. Melody is a great girl, but she has her own set of faults and flaws, just like anyone else. One of her best traits is her unconditional acceptance; which I like to think is due to her mixed ancestry and open-mindedness.

Follow along as I delve into this generation of witches and wizards, their successes and failures, their struggles and triumphs, and all the mischief they get into. I solemnly swear that they are up to no good.

Please rate/review and let me know what you think!]

* * *

"All right, Mel, admit it… You're lost." Melody Wright sat down dejectedly at an outdoor set of tables and chairs in the middle of Diagon Alley. All around her, witches and wizards bustled about, getting their Saturday errands done.

Melody groaned, replaying the last two weeks in her head. Her father had recently gotten a splendid job offer in Wales. Instead of considering the fact that Mel might not want to move away from Ilvermorny and finish her last two years in a strange new school, he had accepted it and whisked her mother away to live with him in their wonderful new flat. Melody's mother had considered allowing her to continue attending Ilvermorny, but she decided in the end that it was too far away. After many owls between her parents and the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Melody had been allowed to transfer over. A reporter from London's magical newspaper, the Daily Prophet, had Floo Powder-traveled all the way to America to get the first scoop on the Hogwarts transfer student. The woman, Rita Skeeter, was in her mid-20's and made Melody rather uncomfortable. She had a feeling that some things in the article had been exaggerated, but she didn't bother finding it and reading through it.

Melody was a bright young witch of mixed No-Maj and magical ancestry, with both Native American and Irish blood, among other varied nationalities. She was rather slim, and of an average height for a sixteen-year-old girl. Her long dark curls reached the middle of her back, and her eyes, a blue that stood out against her olive-toned skin, were long-lashed and full of a mixture of shrewd awareness and gentle kindness.

Her parents hadn't been able to come along with her to shop for school supplies, so they'd sent her to meet up with her Uncle Saul, who lived near Diagon Alley. Saul Croaker was often busy at the Ministry of Magic, working in some position that he was unable to speak about; and he'd been delayed in joining Melody, so she'd had to find her way around London all by herself. As nervous as Melody was about starting at Hogwarts, she thought it would be much less stressful than this shopping trip had been.

She glanced up, scanning the nearest shops for what seemed like the hundredth time. On the corner of the street, there was an inviting little ice cream shop that had a sign above it, which read "Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour."

With nothing better to do, and a craving for something sweet, Melody hopped up and walked over to the shop. She went inside, the door tinkling slightly as she did, and walked up to the counter. A kind-looking older man smiled at Melody from behind the display case of ice cream flavors.

"Just a moment, dear," he said. The man shoveled up several scoops of a pinkish ice cream and deposited them in a sizeable bowl, handing it to an old lady who winked at Melody as she left. The shop was relatively empty, except for three boys who were standing a little ways from the counter. Two of them were talking loudly, and the third was reading a book intently as he finished a small bowl of ice cream.

"What can I get for you?" The man behind the counter asked. Melody figured he must be Florean Fortescue.

"Um…" She took a moment to scan the list of flavors and toppings posted on the wall. It seemed to stretch on for miles… at least it had her favorite combination. "I'd like two scoops of extra dark chocolate with lightly sweetened cream, please."

He smiled pleasantly as he began to scoop out her ice cream. "Huh, you know, that's not really one of my best sellers, but you're the second person to order it today." Melody looked around to see who he meant, and her gaze fell on the boy with the book, who was returning his now-empty bowl to the counter.

"Here you go—four Sickles."

Melody paid and thanked him, then sat down at one of the indoor tables to eat it. The three boys seemed like they were on their way out, but one of them, a handsome boy with shoulder-length black hair, was lingering at the counter, pretending to peruse the flavors—although he was really shooting glances at Melody.

Melody looked pointedly down at her bowl as she ate her snack.

"Sirius, are you going for seconds or not?" the second boy, with untidy dark hair and glasses, asked good-naturedly. "I want to get to Quality Quidditch Supplies already."

The boy named Sirius stole one more furtive glance towards Melody, who was suddenly very interested in her spoon. "Yeah, and then we can hurry to Flourish and Blotts, in case Evans is there, right?"

"Oh, Sirius, you know me so well."

Melody's heart started beating a little faster. Quality Quidditch Supplies and Flourish and Blotts were two of the places on her shopping list that she'd had trouble finding. In reality, she'd probably passed right by them in her flurry of anxiety, trying to make sure she'd purchased everything—but if these boys knew exactly where to go, perhaps she could follow them to their destinations.

The boys left the shop, and, after hurriedly gulping down the last of her ice cream, Melody followed them. She had assumed they would already be a few paces down the road, but the boys had paused right outside of Florean Fortescue's. Unable to slow her momentum, she knocked right against whichever boy was closest. A book tumbled to the floor, and Mel dove to catch it before it reached the ground, righting herself so quickly that she almost fell over.

"Careful," said a soft voice. Melody looked up into warm grey eyes and felt a flush creeping onto her cheeks.

"Sorry. I mean, here," she sputtered, handing him his book and taking a step back.

"That was a great catch!" the boy with glasses commended her, running his hand through his hair absent-mindedly. "Do you play Quidditch, by any chance?"

"Former Seeker for the Ilvermorny Thunderbirds," Melody said proudly. The boy's eyebrows drew together.

"That sounds familiar..."

"Famili—James, you wanker, she's the American transfer student! Didn't you hear her melodic American accent? Don't you recognize her lovely visage from the paper? She's in our year, to boot!" The boy with long black hair bowed dramatically, looking at her with twinkling black eyes. "I, my dear, am known as Sirius Black. You must be Melody Wright."

Melody felt warmth rising to her cheeks. "Er, yes. Nice to meet you."

"This is James—" he elbowed the one with the glasses, who elbowed him back— "And Remus." The boy with the book inclined his head politely.

Mel gave them an awkward small wave. "Hi. Um, I heard you guys talking about some of the places I'm looking for, and I was wondering if…" She faltered. They were all staring at her with rapt attention.

"So adorable!" Sirius exclaimed, referring to her distinctly American accent. Melody didn't know if she should be flattered or embarrassed. "Of course we'll show you around," he continued. "Right this way."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her along through the crowd, all the while cracking jokes with James. After a short while, they approached a store. "First stop—Quality Quidditch Supplies!"

The inside smelled like broom wax and fresh wood, two familiar scents that made Mel feel slightly nostalgic. James pulled Sirius away towards the brooms, and Melody wandered by herself through the other merchandise, finally locating what she needed—broom polish.

"Have you played for long?" a familiar voice asked. She turned around to see Remus, who was perusing the wax a little further down the aisle.

"Yes. I was on my House's team for the past four years. Do you play?"

He smiled ruefully. "No. James does, though—he's a Chaser for the Gryffindor team. I promised him I'd learn some more about it, after he—after he did something very thoughtful for me during summer break." Remus held up his book for her to see the title—Quidditch Through The Ages.

"That's cool," Melody said, suddenly realizing how American she must sound. What did British people say? That's wicked? Bangin'? She decided to change the subject. "Gryffindor is one of the Houses, right? We had four at Ilvermorny—if I remember right, it was modeled after Hogwarts."

"That sounds accurate to me. The Hogwarts Houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. The three of us are all in Gryffindor."

"Is that the best house, then?" Melody asked, selecting a small tub of polish.

"I don't know if there's really a _best_ House, but James and Sirius would certainly say it's Gryffindor. They've gotten into more than a couple of fights about it with other students."

"Really?" Melody wondered what easygoing James and exuberant Sirius would be like in an argument. They seemed so pleasant and carefree.

Before they had a chance to talk more, the others made them hurry up so they could get to Flourish and Blotts. Upon entering the store, James immediately swooped over to a very pretty redheaded girl who was browsing through the quills and ink.

"There she is! A glorious sight to behold; to take one glimpse of your perfect beauty is to drink a draught of eternal life. Lily, a bloom among thorns, a sunray among moonbeams—"

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Potter," Lily said curtly, picking up a book from one of the many shelves. Melody saw Lily hide a smile behind it before she frowned at him. "Don't you have something better to do than bother me?"

"You're all he lives for!" Sirius exclaimed, abashed. "Oh, by the way, this is Melody! She's our new friend. I might even like her better than I like you," he teased.

"Is that supposed to bother me?" Lily raised an eyebrow at him before nodding pleasantly at Mel. "It's nice to meet you. If you ever need some sane company, let me know."

Melody chuckled at that, and Sirius slung his arm around her shoulders. Her eyes widened, but he didn't seem to notice. "Sane? We're perfectly sane, aren't we?"

"Sanely perfect," James agreed loudly, earning himself a disapproving glare from the shop's clerk. Remus just smiled, shaking his head as Lily tossed her hair, walking away with an air of confidence Melody admired.

"Who was that?" Melody ventured. "I didn't catch her name; James was talking so quickly."

"That's Lily Evans, James's one true love," Sirius said matter-of-factly.

"I'm going to marry that girl," James said wistfully, staring after her long after she was out of sight.

"Hey, want to sit with us on the train?" Sirius asked suddenly, grinning.

"Sure," Melody said pleasantly. They exited Flourish and Blotts, and she spotted her uncle down by Ollivander's. "I've gotta go. See you later?"

"'I've gotta go'," Sirius repeated, attempting to recreate her accent. "…So adorable.". He extracted his arm from around her shoulders. "See ya!"

The boys waved, and Melody glanced back to see Remus gazing after her, before she turned to follow her aunt.

"So adorable!" Sirius exclaimed once more, when Melody had disappeared into the crowd.

"Okay, we get it," James deadpanned. Sirius mock-gasped at him, with an offended expression.

"What, I obsess over how cute a girl is for five minutes, and that's too long? You should hear yourself moon over Lily sometime!"

Remus closed his book, lost in thought. Her eyes were very blue.

* * *

As the train whistle blew its last warnings of departure, Melody found her way onto the Hogwarts Express, balancing her new tawny owl's cage in one hand, and a book for the ride in the other. Most of the train's compartments seemed to be full, or otherwise filling up as students hurried along the narrow corridor, finding their friends and fellow Housemates. Melody was wondering how she'd be able to find those three boys in all the hubbub, but she didn't have to worry—a little ways down the corridor, Sirius was leaning so far out of a compartment that he was almost horizontal.

"Melody!" he called loudly over to her, ignoring the raised eyebrows as his voice carried through the entire train. "Over here!"

Mildly embarrassed, yet also relieved, Melody hurried over to Sirius and edged into the compartment, frowning slightly in disappointment when she saw that Remus wasn't there.

"Wright! Good to see you," James said heartily, springing from his seat to take her owl's cage off her hands. "Please, come on, come in."

Sirius escorted her to the seats, plopping down beside the window and patting the spot next to him. James sat across from Sirius, stretching his legs out on the seat he had to himself.

"Prepare yourself for a pleasant ride in the best of company with magnificent views," Sirius said seriously, gesturing to the window.

"Remus tells me you play Seeker," James said excitedly, clearly unable to wait any longer to discuss the subject of Quidditch. "Our team needs a good new one, after the disasters Jensen caused last year, missing the Snitch nearly every game. But he's graduated now, so you've got to try out for the team, all right? Which means you've got to make sure you end up in Gryffindor."

"Seriously, though, Mels, if you're not in Gryffindor, I'm going to have to take it up personally with Dumbledore," Sirius said stoutly.

Melody recognized the name from the many owls that her parents had exchanged with Hogwarts. "The headmaster, right?"

Sirius nodded. James's head turned sharply towards the glass doors, and he tried to act casual as, a few moments later, Lily Evans passed by, her red hair glistening in a patch of sunlight that had reached from the window all the way out into the corridor.

"...Perfection," James groaned slightly, before turning back to Melody. "Anyway, you've got to try out. I'm a Chaser for Gryffindor."

"Remus told me," Melody recalled. "I'll try out, that's for certain. But I have no idea what House I'll end up in."

"So long as you're not in Slytherin, you can still be our friend," James said, a glint in his eye.

"If Mels ends up in Slytherin, I'll eat my hat," Sirius sniffed.

"But you don't have a hat," James pointed out.

"I'll eat the Sorting Hat, then."

They were interrupted when Remus entered the compartment, looking tired but with a pleasant smile on his face.

"Prefect's meeting exciting at all this year?" James asked, grinning as he swept his legs off the seat to make room for Remus.

"Nothing that would be interesting to you," Remus said bemusedly as he sat across from Melody. "It was shorter than last time, though."

"What's the common room password?" James inquired. "Always good to know ahead of time."

"I still think they should take password suggestions," Sirius said dreamily. "Wouldn't it be lovely to announce "Snivellus is a git" every time you want to get past the Fat Lady?"

Melody was going to ask who he meant by "Snivellus," but James nudged Sirius, indicating for him to be quiet as Lily returned to their compartment, sliding the doors open with ease.

"Have you come to accept my proposals?" James said airily, running his fingers through his already-untidy dark hair.

"In your dreams," Lily replied. "This is for you, Melody. Professor Slughorn wanted to meet you himself." She handed her a rolled-up piece of parchment, fastened with a violet ribbon.

"Oh? Thank you," Melody said hesitantly, accepting the message and unrolling it.

Sirius whistled lowly. "Barely on the train, and he's already got you down for the Slug Club!"

"The... Slug Club?" Melody asked, looking up from the invitation.

"I can tell you more about it, since I'm actually _in_ it," Lily said pointedly, raising an eyebrow at Sirius. "Are you coming?" she asked Melody.

"Sure, why not?" Melody stood, glancing around for a place to set down the book she was still holding in one hand.

"I'll hold it for you," Remus offered quietly. Melody smiled gratefully and handed him her copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

"Now that you two are best friends, I expect to be seeing a lot more of you, Evans," James called after the two girls as they started down the corridor.

"I wouldn't count on it," Lily called back to him. Once they were out of earshot, Lily turned her bright hazel eyes onto Melody. "I hope they're not bothering you too much. Sirius can be a bit much, and James is just obnoxious. Put them together, and it's a wonder Gryffindor Tower hasn't crumbled to the ground. Remus is the only one who has any sense, but it's hard to ever find him on his own, without those two around him; so I don't really bother."

Melody's heart had started hammering so loudly when Lily mentioned Remus's name that she was almost sure the other girl would be able to hear it. She willed her pulse to slow down, and shrugged thoughtfully. "They seem all right to me. Though, if any guy talked to me the way James does to you, I would probably be just as annoyed as you are."

"It's not really that I'm annoyed," Lily said simply. "It's that he's an arrogant toerag whose head is larger than his vocabulary. Here we are," she added, gesturing for Melody to enter Professor Slughorn's compartment. A small group of students was seated inside, evidently awaiting her arrival. A few of them looked at her with curiosity.

"Ah, here she is! Welcome," cried an exuberant voice. Professor Slughorn was a large man, with an impressive walrus mustache, rosy cheeks, and twinkling eyes. "Welcome to our new American student. Transfer programs between wizarding schools are, of course, not unheard of; but you'll certainly be the first to grace the halls of Hogwarts in over a century. Sit, sit!" he insisted.

Melody obliged, taking up a free space across from Lily.

"I hear you've had professional Quidditch teams scouting you since your fourth year!" Slughorn exclaimed, beaming around at the group as though he had just finished mentioning this to the rest of them. "And, if I'm not mistaken in my history, you are related to the famous Bowman Wright, are you not? Inventor of the Golden Snitch?"

"Oh—yes, that's right," Melody nodded, not sure why that was relevant. Her distant ancestor had been born sometime in the 1400s; it wasn't like she had ever met him or anything, although she admired him for inventing the very thing that had first drawn her interest for Quidditch. She would have thought it far more interesting, perhaps, to talk about her American Muggle ancestor Orville Wright, who had at least been alive within the past 200 years.

"Excellent, excellent!" Slughorn crowed. "Well, you must be wondering why I've brought you here; and a couple of the rest of you are new faces, too," he said knowingly. "Well, this is a little group of special students I like to refer to informally as the "Slug Club". It's merely a collection of students I've noticed to have, ah, certain potential for greatness! I'll be inviting you to happy little gatherings throughout the year, and I'll be sure to keep up with your progress in all of your classes to see just how much you can achieve! It will, of course, be easiest for me to monitor your achievements in Potions work. For those of you who do not know," he said, inclining his head towards Melody, "I am the Potions instructor at Hogwarts, and Head of Slytherin House."

Melody smiled politely, wondering if it was the students Slughorn was interested in, or their famous ancestry. He went on to talk about some of the previous members of the Slug Club who had gone on to do great things, and introduced several of the current members to each other before dismissing everyone and assuring them he'd be sending out invitations for the first dinner party after everyone had settled into classes.

As Melody turned to go, Slughorn held up a hand, beckoning her towards him. She glanced towards Lily, who was already on her way out of the compartment. Deciding that they could chat more later, Melody went back towards Slughorn, who was standing with a slim, dark-haired boy who looked slightly familiar.

"My dear! I just wanted to introduce you to Regulus, one of my top students. He's Seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch team! I thought you two might get on well."

Regulus didn't appear to be quite as outgoing as Slughorn seemed to think he was. Melody gave a little wave of her hand, and Regulus raised his eyebrows in greeting.

"I'll see plenty of you at Hogwarts, I expect," Slughorn said jovially. "Can't wait to see how you fare in Potions!"

Melody smiled weakly. Potions wasn't her worst subject, but it wasn't her strongest, either. She often got flustered or distracted while looking back and forth from the instructions to whatever she was preparing, and was prone to missing tiny little details that affected the overall quality of the solution. There was only one potion that she had been able to brew successfully without any issues—and it was one of the most complicated and potentially dangerous potions in existence. If anyone found out what she'd been up to this past summer, she'd surely be expelled for illegal activities.

"Thank you, Professor." Melody exited the compartment, followed by Regulus, who didn't seem keen to speak to her. To her surprise, however, he did.

"How long have you been playing?" he asked in a quiet, though not unpleasant, voice.

"Ever since I could ride a broom," Melody replied, glad to get on a subject she knew and loved. "I'm best at Seeking, but I can play Beater if I need to."

"Beater? Really?" Regulus seemed mildly impressed. He fell into step beside her. "You're rather small for that, I'd think."

"I'm better at hitting off Bludgers than I am at handling the Quaffle," Melody admitted ruefully. "I'm pretty good at dropping the Quaffle anytime one comes near me, actually."

"Well, if you get Sorted into Slytherin..." He trailed off, gazing into the compartment they were approaching. Melody was happy to realize that they had reached the one her new friends were sitting in, but she was startled to see Sirius's handsome face looking grim as he looked past her at Regulus.

"I'll see you later," Regulus finished, continuing on without a second glance backwards. Confused, Melody entered the compartment and took her seat beside Sirius again.

"I had forgotten my brother was in the Slug Club," Sirius said calmly. "He wasn't getting on your nerves, was he?"

"No, not at all," Melody said honestly. It made sense, now, that Regulus looked so familiar—he was like a slightly less handsome, slightly younger version of Sirius. They couldn't have been more than a year apart.

"You missed the trolley," James interjected cheerfully, although Melody could tell that he was purposefully changing the subject. "I've got a spare Pumpkin Pasty if you want it."

"I'm allergic to pumpkin," Melody said regretfully. "Any Chocolate Frogs?"

"You can have mine," Remus offered, holding it out to her atop her book. "I'm not very hungry at the moment."

Melody hesitated, and then smiled gratefully as she accepted both items. "Thank you." She ate her snack, flipping the card over to see who she'd gotten. "Newt Scamander! Finally," she said contentedly.

"I take it you're a fan of magical creatures?" Remus asked, nodding to the book she was holding.

"Yes; it's my favorite subject. A lot of creatures and beings are misunderstood... If I don't go professional with Quidditch, I might do something with magical creatures, unless I decide to become an Auror."

"Misunderstood, eh?" Sirius said, clearly in a better mood again. "I'm sure most of us would have to agree on that point." His eyes were twinkling at Remus. Then he turned to Melody. "You have quite the high aspirations there. Professional Quidditch player, Auror, Magizoologist... I won't be surprised if you end up becoming all three."

"How are you going to get Sorted, anyway?" James asked, clearly still thinking of the Gryffindor team tryouts. "Will they make you stand up there with all the first years? You'd stick out like a sore thumb," he added, chuckling.

"Actually, I'm supposed to wait in the Great Hall after the feast," Melody explained. "In Dumbledore's last owl, he said I'll be Sorted privately, and then a Prefect from my new House will escort me to the common room."

"Fantastic," Sirius said, rubbing his hands together. "We'll have the house-elves set up an extra bed in our room."

Melody choked on her last bit of Chocolate Frog, and Sirius patted her on the back sympathetically. "Joking, Mels, joking," he assured her, ruffling her curly black hair with his other hand.

* * *

The rest of the train ride passed pleasantly; and it did indeed have the magnificent views that Sirius had promised. The excitement of everything, however, had tired Melody out; and, after they had all changed into their robes in the train's provided dressing-room compartments, she ended up nodding off against Sirius's shoulder as the sky outside darkened to a starlit night.

Melody found herself being shaken gently awake, and she opened her eyes to see Sirius grinning down at her.

"Rise and shine, little one. We've arrived," he told her.

Melody realized that she was curled up against him, with her arm around his waist as though he were a teddy bear. A bright pink hue colored her olive-toned cheeks as she sprang to her feet, nearly elbowing Sirius in the face as she did so. Melody found herself avoiding eye contact with any of them as they stepped off the train, although none of the boys seemed to feel uncomfortable because of her sleeping position. Had she been snuggled up to Sirius the whole time she was asleep?

A man's voice echoed across the throngs of students, summoning the first years, but Melody had been told to take the carriages along with everyone in second year and up. She looked around for the carriages, and paused when she saw what was pulling them.

Thestrals.

With their dark, skeletal frames, lidless white eyes, and bat-like wings, most people would not consider thestrals to be particularly pleasing to the eye; but Melody was fascinated by them. She was standing, mouth slightly open as she stared at them, when Sirius finally tugged her along gently and helped her into the nearest carriage.

Melody found herself sitting next to Remus this time, and was suddenly very aware of things like how loudly she was breathing and whether her hair smelled nice or not. Remus saw that she was watching the thestrals' movements as they walked purposefully down the lane, and he smiled softly.

"Amazing, aren't they?" he said quietly as James and Sirius began discussing the feast they would soon be enjoying. "Another misunderstood creature, I would venture to say."

Melody looked at her hands, nervous to meet the gaze of those gentle grey eyes. "Yeah, I would say so. It was—it was my grandmother I saw, when I was twelve or so. I've read about thestrals, but they're not so common where I lived."

"It was my mother, for me," Remus replied. "At the end of last term."

Startled at how recently the death he'd witnessed had been, Melody glanced up at Remus. He was regarding her with a thoughtful expression, with warmth in his gaze and pain behind it.

"I'm sorry," Melody said after a moment. "That must be hard to deal with."

Remus's mouth twitched into a smile. "It's all right. I've got a pretty good support system." He nodded his head towards the other two boys. James was imitating some sort of creature, and Sirius was laughing so hard it sounded like he was barking.

"You all seem very close," Melody said, smiling at their antics. "It's good to have close friends."

"Do you have anyone you miss, at your old school?" Remus asked.

Melody considered this for a moment. "Yes, and no," she finally answered. "I had a lot of friends there—it seemed like I was always surrounded by people. But, now that I think about it, they weren't really the kind of people I could count on to be there for me. I often felt like I was alone in a crowd."

"Hogwarts is different," Remus assured her. "You won't feel so alone here, I promise you."

Melody felt her cheeks growing warm again. "Thanks, Remus."

"Of course."


	2. A Song, A Celebration, And A Snivellus

p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"[strongA/N:/strong I'm churning chapters out due to being highly inspired and having a lot of time on my hands. Once school starts, updates will be nowhere near this frequent. Enjoy!]/p  
hr style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;" noshade="noshade" size="1" /  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"When they reached the castle, Melody and her three new friends shuffled through the crowd and into the Entrance Hall, then the Great Hall, which had a high ceiling enchanted to look like the starry night sky. Melody found herself staring open-mouthed again, until Sirius ushered her along. She was hesitant about sitting at their table when she wasn't actually in Gryffindor House, but James wouldn't hear it, and pulled her down beside him, patting her on the head affectionately./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Melody saw Lily a little ways down the table, talking to some other Gryffindor girls and pointedly avoiding James's gaze, though she had a slight smirk on her face, as though she was perfectly aware that he kept looking over at her. At the Slytherin table, she saw Regulus, playing with the golden goblet in front of him, and up at the staff table, Slughorn caught her eye, giving her a little wave before turning back towards the incredibly small, wizened old professor he was talking to./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The chatter died down as the doors to the Great Hall opened again, and a stern-looking witch with her hair in a tight bun marched in, carrying a stool and an old, patched, fraying brown hat. She was followed by a cluster of eleven-year olds, who were looking around anxiously and trying to stay as close together as possible./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The older witch placed the stool upon a raised step in front of the staff table, and she put the hat reverently upon the stool. All was quiet, and Melody was going to ask what was going on when a rip in the brim of the hat opened, like a mouth. When the hat began to sing, Melody jumped slightly in her seat, startled, and jostled against Sirius, who chuckled./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emFor those of you who do not know, my duties are as such:/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emTo find the place where you belong! You'll like it very much./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emSometimes a student wonders if the House they're in is right,/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emBut I'm certain I don't make mistakes; so don't be filled with fright./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emYou may belong in Gryffindor, the House of brave and true,/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emOr Slytherin, which favors those ambitious, sly, and shrewd,/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emIt could be Hufflepuff that seeks you for your patient scruples,/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emOr Ravenclaw, which shines with its intelligent young pupils./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emJust put me on, and you will see, I know where you belong,/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emBut I've just one more thing to say before I end this song./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emThe strongest friendships can come from unlikeliest of places,/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emSo don't you judge upon first sight when you see brand-new faces./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emDon't be afraid to trust new friends because you think you're odd!/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emTheir level of acceptance may leave you agape in awe./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emThough rivalries exist, it's not impossible to find/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emThat each House has potential for friendships of different kinds./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emNow I'll be done, and Sort you out, and new friends you will meet./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emI'm sure by now, you cannot wait to tuck in to the feast./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The hat fell silent, and there was a smattering of applause, which faded away as the witch held up a scroll, preparing to read from it./p  
hr style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;" noshade="noshade" size="1" /  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"After all of the first years had been Sorted, which consisted of the Sorting Hat being placed on their heads, deliberating, and then barking out the House they belonged in, Dumbledore announced that he was pleased to have them all there, and he was certain that, as the hat had suggested, they had waited more than long enough for the feast./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"With a wave of his hand, the dishes on each table were filled to bursting with food and beverages, and Melody wasted no time in helping herself. When all stomachs were satisfied and the desserts had been magically cleared away, she sighed contentedly, listening as Sirius asked James what N.E.W.T. subjects he would be taking this year./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""What will you be taking?" Remus asked pleasantly across the table./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Oh, I got decent O.W.L.s," Melody recalled, "so I'll have Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures, and Herbology."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Over-achiever," Sirius said good-naturedly. "We've all got all of those except for Care of Magical Creatures. Moony's got it, though, so you'll have that class with him."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Melody blinked, not sure who he was referring to. Remus smiled at her. "I'm Moony," he informed her. "It's a little nickname they came up with for me that I'm afraid I'll be rather stuck with for the rest of my life."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Not that we're usually so quick to give up our alter-egos," James added, "But now that you know one, you might as well know them all. I'm Prongs, and Sirius is Padfoot. Just so you don't get confused when we call each other by those nicknames."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""I suppose we'll have to come up with one for Melody, too. Hmm..." Sirius turned completely in his seat, scrutinizing Melody from every possible angle. She raised her eyebrows, but at the center of the staff table, a tall older man with a long white beard and silver half-moon spectacles straightened his deep purple hat and stood up. The Great Hall quieted down respectfully, and he raised his hands in welcome./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""New and old students alike, I welcome you to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said calmly, a twinkle in his eye as he surveyed the Great Hall. "Another year begins for us. I am asked by our caretaker, Mr. Filch, to remind you that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds unless accompanied by a teacher, and Zonko's Joke Shop products are banned from the school—"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Never stopped us before," James said under his breath./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""—and third years and above are only permitted to visit Hogsmeade if they have a signed permission slip from their parents or guardians. For those interested, Quidditch tryouts will be held within the following three weeks—please see your House's Captain for details on the dates and times. I would also like to extend a special welcome to our first transfer student in over a century; Miss Melody Wright, here all the way from Ilvermorny. We hope you'll find Hogwarts to your liking."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Many heads had already turned towards Melody, as she was the only new person who wasn't a tiny first year, and news of her arrival had been featured in the Daily Prophet; but if the other students hadn't noticed her before, they would now—Sirius was leading a whooping round of applause as James pointed excitedly to Melody, to be sure that everyone knew who she was. Melody's face turned red, and she refrained from attempting to slink under the table, instead glancing around with an embarrassed smile./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The applause died down until Sirius was the only one clapping, and Remus swatted his hand across the table, so he would stop./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Now, you should all get a good night's sleep before classes begin tomorrow." With that, the students were dismissed, and a buzz of chatter filled the Great Hall once more as everyone milled towards the halls, to get to their common rooms./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""I've got to direct the first years," Remus told Melody before darting away. "Whatever House you're in won't matter. You'll do fine wherever you're placed."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Thanks," Melody said quietly, watching him go./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""We'll be seeing you in the common room, I expect," James said, running his hand through his hair again as Lily passed by. "There's really no way you can end up anywhere but Gryffindor. You're practically one of us."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Remember, little one, if the hat starts to say Slytherin, just whip it off your head and insist that it was about to say Gryffindor. That's basically what I did," Sirius said in a way that made Melody unsure of whether he was being candid or not. He tugged one of Melody's long, dark curls before sauntering away. "Good luck!"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Melody waited in the Great Hall, trying to avoid curious stares as the room emptied out. Finally, it was just her and Professor Dumbledore in the room./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Welcome, Miss Wright," Dumbledore said pleasantly as he gestured for her to approach the table. The stool and Sorting Hat, which had been cleared away during the feast, were now in the spot they had previously been placed, during the Sorting Ceremony. "I trust your journey went well?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Yes, it did," Melody said honestly. "I made some new friends."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""So I noticed," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling behind his spectacles. "Your teachers at your former school have given me nothing but glowing reviews of you. I decided to have you Sorted separately because, as a sixth-year student rather than a first-year, it may take more than a few minutes for the hat to decide your place. If you would?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"He gestured to the stool, and Melody placed the hat upon her head before sitting down. The stool was rather low for her—even though she wasn't particularly tall, it was clearly designed for eleven-year-olds./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The hat harrumphed, and it took Melody a moment to realize that the sound had occurred in her head, not in her ears./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""I've heard about you," the hat said knowingly. "A good student, good marks, talented in many areas, interested in many different things... House Thunderbird back at Ilvermorny, I see. But where to put you here?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The hat fell silent for a good five minutes before speaking again. "Ah, here we are. You value hard work and fair play... Hufflepuff would make sense, yes. Very much. But there is such strong ambition there, too; you'd be a fair Slytherin, indeed. A passion for learning makes you a good choice for Ravenclaw... You admire those who stand up for themselves and others, I see. Those who are not afraid to step forward and take chances. You wish your confidence in Quidditch extended to your everyday endeavors... Interesting."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"It fell silent for another ten minutes. Melody began to let her thoughts wander idly./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Ah!"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The hat exclaimed so suddenly that Melody almost fell off the stool./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""I see that your heart already belongs to Gryffindor House. You'd do well in any of them, I think, but the heart wants what the heart wants; and the courage within you is just as strong as your kindness, intellect, and cunning. You have the soul of an adventurer. Gryffindor!" The hat fell silent for good, and Melody removed it from her head. She couldn't help smiling as she handed it over to Professor Dumbledore./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Professor McGonagall is your new Head of House," he said, that twinkle in his eyes again. "She'll be handing out schedules tomorrow morning at breakfast. You'll find that all of your possessions have been moved to your new accommodations in Gryffindor Tower—your owl, of course, is safe in our Owlery. Welcome to Hogwarts, Miss Wright."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Thank you," Melody said gratefully, relief apparent in her voice./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""A Gryffindor Prefect will be waiting out in the Entrance Hall," Dumbledore told her kindly. "Best of luck with the coming year."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Thank you," Melody repeated, and she almost skipped with joy as she hurried from the Great Hall, eager to get to the boys and tell them the good news./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"She ran into someone's chest, and backed up a step, her eyes watering slightly from the impact./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""We've got to stop meeting like this," Remus said bemusedly./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Melody's embarrassment was overtaken by her excitement, and she smiled happily up at him. "How did you get here so fast?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""I was sent for as soon as I showed the first years to Gryffindor Tower," Remus said, shrugging. "Perhaps Dumbledore already had an idea of which House you'd end up in."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Perhaps." Melody followed Remus up the moving staircases, her momentary glee fading away as she became nervous about the fact that they were walking alone together./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Gryffindor Tower is on the seventh floor," Remus explained as they walked. "The Common Room is guarded by a portrait known as the Fat Lady. The password to get in is currently "Phoenix Tears", although it changes periodically. Prefects are always told ahead of time, so if you're unsure, feel free to ask me." He hopped absentmindedly, skipping a step, but Melody kept walking normally. Her foot sank into the step, and she wobbled, stuck in the staircase./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Um..."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Remus turned back towards her. "Oh! I should have mentioned that. There are a few trick steps," he told her, grasping her by the elbows to pull her up and out. There was a loud emschlopp/em, and Melody popped free of the stair, finding herself close enough to Remus that she could have kissed the scars on his cheeks if she wanted to. Now that she was so close, Melody could see that there were actually quite a few; some more faded than others./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Nearly unable to breathe, Melody scooted sideways to a respectable distance, and kept walking. Remus continued as though nothing had happened; although, if Melody had ventured a glance towards him, she would have seen that his pale skin had gone a slightly pinkish color./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"They reached the seventh floor without any more stair incidents, and Remus recited the password to the Fat Lady, who inclined her head to Melody in greeting as they clambered through the portrait hole./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The two of them were barely inside the Common Room before James and Sirius gave a loud cheer./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""I knew it!" Sirius roared, grabbing Melody's hands and twirling her around. "Knew it was meant to be!"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Welcome to Gryffindor!" James shouted, shooting red and gold sparks from his wand./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""It's after hours," Remus said, referring to the amount of noise they were making; but he didn't try too hard to quiet them down./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""So you're going to try out for the Quidditch team?" James pressed./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Let her settle in first, James," Sirius scolded lightly, as though he hadn't practically lifted her off her feet the second she walked in. "Strangely enough, an extra bed didn't appear in our dormitory, so I'm assuming they've put you with the girls. You are, of course, welcome to pop in whenever you like."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""You're probably rooming with Evans," James realized, his face lighting up as he calculated the number of fifth- and sixth-year Gryffindor girls. "Hey, put in a good word for me, will you?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""I can't make any promises," Melody said wryly, and they all laughed./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""We'll see you at breakfast, I hope," Remus said in his calm voice. He was already looking more tired than any of the rest of them./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Of course." Melody waved a goodnight, treading lightly up the stairs to her new quarters. Lily was sitting in one of the four-poster beds, working on a charm, and two other girls were asleep in their bunks./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Good to see you again," Lily said kindly as she twirled the tip of her wand, producing a tiny butterfly. "Your bed's the one above mine. It just popped up not long ago, so I figured it meant you were Sorted into Gryffindor."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Right," Melody said, looking up at the bed and then around the room. Her trunk was placed neatly against an empty nightstand, with her Shooting Star propped up against it and her empty owl's cage tucked neatly against the windowsill. "I'm looking forward to this year."/p  
hr style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;" noshade="noshade" size="1" /  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The following morning, the boys were waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, and Sirius insisted on escorting her, arm in arm, to the Great Hall for breakfast. As Professor McGonagall, the stern witch who had handled the Sorting, handed out schedules, she paused briefly to review N.E.W.T. subjects with the sixth years, and ensure that they had the qualifications to proceed into those class levels./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""All in order, of course," she said to Remus. "And yours are fine as well, Potter and Black. I was impressed with your grades in Transfigurations—you both received top marks."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""We owe it all to your masterful instruction," Sirius replied, innocence emanating from his earnest expression. He, James, and Remus stood together at the edge of the table, clearly still waiting for Melody. This did not go unnoticed by Professor McGonagall, whose lips were pursed in an attempt to keep from smiling as she turned to Melody./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""It's a pleasure to have you at our school, Miss Wright," she said crisply. "With O's and E's in all of your O.W.L. subjects, you needn't worry about the qualifications for any of your N.E.W.T. level classes. You may go ahead to Potions class—your, ah, escorts appear to be waiting," she said bemusedly, moving on down the table./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Melody joined the three boys, and together they trooped downstairs to Slughorn's classroom, which was down by the dungeons. James groaned as he watched a Slytherin student pass by./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Right, I forgot—every sixth year who got an E on their O.W.L. is allowed to take Potions. You know what that means."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Snivellus," Sirius said darkly, tossing his hair back from his shoulders. "I wouldn't be surprised if he got an O on his exam, the snothead." Melody looked from one to the other, but neither of them were offering an explanation./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"They arrived at the door to the classroom, where three Slytherins, two Ravenclaws, and a Hufflepuff were also waiting to go inside. The taller Ravenclaw, a boy with sandy blond hair and green eyes, appraised Melody the second she came into view./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""I've read a lot about you," he said, stepping forward and smiling, with an eyebrow raised. "I'm Bertram Aubrey, Captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. It's too bad you didn't make it into our House—we could have used a talented new Seeker."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""It took the Sorting Hat a while to decide," Melody admitted, not liking the way that his eyes were roaming over her whole body. "But I think I ended up in the right one."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""I'm sure you did," Bertram said lightly, glancing at her companions, who were looking coolly back at him. "But if you ever want to, ah, emstudy/em, or anything, the Ravenclaw common room is in the West Tower. You're welcome over there anytime."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Thanks," Melody said, not sure why there was so much tension in the air. It was elevated even further when someone brushed roughly past Sirius, and he whirled around, already brandishing his wand./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""You sure that's how you want to start out your year, Snivellus?" he barked, pointing it at a skinny boy with pale skin and lank, greasy black hair. His dark eyes were narrowed as they darted from Sirius to James, who also had his wand in his hand. Remus was alert, analyzing the situation, but he hadn't pulled out his own wand./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The dark-eyed boy had his hand at his pocket, as though he were ready for a duel, but he must have decided that he wouldn't be able to beat the both of them. Sneering, he glowered at them; but before James or Sirius could fire a hex, two voices floated down the corridor, easily recognizable as belonging to Lily and Slughorn./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"James hesitated only a moment before stowing his wand back in his robes and running a hand through his hair, trying to ensure that no part of it lay flat. Sirius, grimacing, finally shoved his wand away, too./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Sorry to keep you waiting," Slughorn said jovially as he opened the doors. "Lily here was just telling me all about her summer!"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The students filed in, Lily passing so close to James that he lifted his head, trying in vain to catch a whiff of her hair. Inside the classroom, three cauldrons were already bubbling away along a rectangular table, and Melody found herself immediately drawn to one of them./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"It was a pretty potion, with a mother-of-pearl sheen and spiraling steam rising from its depths. Melody was sure she'd read about it at some point, but she couldn't recall the name of it—her brain wasn't working quite right. All she could do was inhale and sigh, taking in the most wonderful scents she had ever known. It smelled of gently used books, and dark chocolate ice cream, and a strangely familiar, woodsy aroma that she couldn't place./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""I see you've all noticed the love potion," Slughorn said, chuckling. Melody snapped back to her senses, realizing that she, among most of the class, had moved considerably closer to the cauldron. "Can anyone tell me what it is called?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Lily raised her hand, and he nodded at her. "Amortentia, sir. It's the most powerful love potion in the world. However, like all love potions, it only instills a powerful infatuation or obsession, and cannot reproduce real love."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Excellent! 5 points to Gryffindor," Slughorn said grandly. "And do we recognize the other potions?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The three others were each distinctly different from each other. One contained a liquid so clear and odorless that it could have been water, and the third held a muddy-looking substance that Melody had previously studied. The fourth was contained in a tiny glass vial, and resembled liquid gold./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Bertram Aubrey correctly identified Veritaserum, and Melody defined Polyjuice Potion, each of them earning 5 points for their Houses. Everyone looked expectantly at the last vial, uncertain of what it could be./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Ah, yes. This one contains Felix Felicis," Slughorn explained, lifting the little vial to show it to the entire class. "Also known as "Liquid Luck". Take this, and all of your endeavors will go right for one day. It is very difficult to brew, and the results are disastrous if done incorrectly. It is also illegal, I should mention, to use in political or sporting events. This vial will go to whichever student can correctly brew a Draught of Living Death—or as close to one as you can manage, in the remaining hour of today's class! I like to impose this test on all of my sixth-year N.E.W.T. students during the first class of the year," he added, replacing the vial upon its stand on the table. "No one has ever managed to brew it successfully as of yet. Page 10 of your textbooks. Let's get cracking!"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Everyone hurried over to the smaller worktables, eager to test their knowledge and possibly win the luck potion. The four Slytherins took a table together, and Lily joined the two Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuff, even though James insisted there was room at their table for her to squeeze in beside him./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Melody worked steadily alongside Sirius, who was back to smiling broadly and laughing easily, but still held a bit of the tension from before in his back and shoulders. What had that Slytherin boy done in the past to cause such a reaction from both Sirius and James?/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"She realized she was getting distracted, and hoped that she had been stirring her infusion of Wormwood and powdered root of Asphodel in the correct direction. Around the classroom, everyone seemed to be having trouble, and Melody felt a little better about the fact that her potion wasn't exactly the color it should have been by now. In fact, it was rather blue, instead of the deep violet the textbook described. At least it wasn't emitting sooty puffs of smoke, like one of the Slytherin students' concoctions, or bubbling dangerously like Bertram's./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Melody thought about the vat of Amortentia. She'd never deign to use it; she was merely wondering what that third scent she'd smelled could possibly be. She kept catching whiffs of it, even though Professor Slughorn had covered the cauldron containing the love potion, so that no one would be distracted by its seductive smells. Why did she keep smelling it, then?/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"She started cutting up her Sopophorous beans, which was proving a far more difficult task than expected. Everywhere, beans were jumping out of students' hands, popping onto the floor or into a neighbor's cauldron. Only the boy Sirius had called "Snivellus" didn't seem to be having any trouble. Instead of cutting up the beans, he was crushing them with the flat of his blade, and calmly adding copious amounts of juice to his cauldron, scribbling hastily in his copy of Advanced Potion-Making every now and then./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Melody felt that she might end up cutting her fingers off if she kept trying to chop up the beans. She knew her potion was already a lost cause, so for her last few beans, she decided to try crushing them, which yielded much better results. Remus glanced at her curiously, probably wondering why she wasn't following the book's instructions, but Melody shrugged in defeat, smiling ruefully./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"It was when Remus reached across the table to catch a runaway bean that Melody realized why she kept smelling that gentle woodsy scent. It emhad/em to be Remus's cologne, or deodorant, or whatever—perhaps it was even just the way he smelled naturally; but it was definitely emhis/em scent she had breathed in so dreamily from the cauldron of Amortentia./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Suddenly very embarrassed, and very glad that Remus could not read her mind, Melody added the juice of another bean to her cauldron. Had that been number 12 or 13? She'd lost count a while ago. Frowning, Melody stirred the concoction, surprised to see it turn a medium purple color—but it wouldn't get any paler, nor turn clear as it was supposed to./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"By the end of the class, Slughorn walked around, peering into everyone's cauldrons and clucking forlornly at some results. He was pleased with Lily's potion, though it was a pale lilac rather than clear, and told Melody that she had made "a respectable attempt". Finally, when he reached the Slytherin table, he let out a delighted exclamation./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Ah, see here! Severus has done it," he said, gesturing for everyone to look at the greasy-haired-boy's potion. The students crowded around; James and Sirius hanging towards the back with disgruntled expressions on their faces. Slughorn dropped a small leaf into the cauldron, and it immediately shriveled up./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""One drop of that, and I daresay only the Wiggenweld Potion would be able to revive any of us. Excellent work, Mister Snape. 20 points to Slytherin, and here is your prize." He handed the vial to Severus, who looked proud but did not smile./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"On their way out of the class, once they had passed out of Slughorn's sight, Melody noticed that James and Sirius had their wands out again, and they were walking purposefully behind Severus, who had the vial of Felix Felicis grasped in one hand. Behind them, Lily hurried to catch up, clearly having noticed the same thing Melody had./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Don't you dare," she said in a low voice to James, who ran his free hand through his hair again./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Evans! I thought you and old Snivelly had given up on being friends," James said haughtily, but quietly enough that Severus would not hear them conversing./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""That's none of your business. And regardless of whether he's my friend or not, it doesn't mean it's right for you to go hexing him at every turn," Lily said forcefully. James frowned at her, but he put his wand away. Sirius had sped up, ignoring Lily's reproaches./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Sirius," Remus said in a cautious tone; but Sirius wouldn't be stopped. A well-aimed Trip Jinx sent Severus sprawling down the hall, skidding for several feet before he came to a stop. His vial of Felix Felicis went flying, and it smashed open, spilling its molten gold contents amongst little shards of broken glass./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"A lot of the other students passing by broke into laughter, but Melody was not one of them. Neither was Lily, and, to Melody's relief, Remus didn't find it funny, either./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Now look what you've done, Snivellus," Sirius called out to him. "You're so terribly clumsy, aren't you?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Severus scrambled to his feet, a mess of tangled hair and disheveled robes, and yelled a curse at Sirius without even looking where he was aiming. It pinged off the wall behind Lily, passing so close to her ear that her hair fluttered with the force of the spell./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Watch where you're pointing that thing," Lily said testily. Severus shoved his hair out of his eyes, meeting Lily's gaze sulkily, and then rounding on Sirius, who had thrown his head back in laughter./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Look at this, James; he can't even hit who he's aiming at. Clumsy emand/em stupid."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"James laughed along with Sirius, and he was about to add to the banter when he caught sight of Lily's disapproving gaze. He cleared his throat, folding his arms as he appraised Severus, who looked as though he wasn't sure who he wanted to hex more—Sirius, or James./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Sirius raised his wand again, and Severus matched him, but Lily growled impatiently and stepped between them./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""That's enough, Sev," she told him. To Melody's surprise, Severus straightened himself up and gathered his bags, casting one last murderous glance at Sirius before hurrying away, stepping over the lost contents of the vial he'd won for brewing such a perfect potion./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Sirius, breathing hard, watched him go. "I should have known you'd turn tail and run away, Snivellus! Cowardly little git," he called after him before stowing his wand away angrily./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Evans, why'd you have to stop the fun?" James asked, trying not to smile. Lily simply brushed past him, hurrying towards Charms with her lips pressed into a thin line./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Melody could see that this rivalry with Severus was a tricky subject; and she wanted to ask Remus about it, but she knew that this was not the right time. Silently, she too stepped over the remnants of Felix Felicis, turning back only to whisper "Tergeo" before following her friends to their Charms lesson. With that little wave of her wand, the potion and glass were cleared up, as though the mess of spilled potion had never existed./p 


	3. Dark Wings, Light Hearts

[ **A/N:** Again, updates will probably be less than monthly once I've started school on Tuesday-but I've been sick all weekend, which has left me with plenty of time to write. I may be able to post another chappie or two before I get bogged down with homework. Please leave a review and let me know what you think!]

* * *

The next day, Melody and Remus headed to Care of Magical Creatures straight after breakfast, while James and Sirius had a free period. Sirius had seemed to get over the whole hall duel with Severus rather quickly, and had been excited for the prospects of a couple of hours to do absolutely nothing or get into mischief—but he had underestimated the amount of homework they'd be assigned by their Potions, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts professors. Groaning, he and James lugged their books to the library, bidding the other two a mournful farewell.

The air was clear, with a gentle autumn breeze, and Melody had a slight spring in her step as she and Remus walked down the grounds towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"You're very excited for this class, aren't you?" Remus asked, a smile tugging at the edges of his mouth.

"Well, yes," Melody said, unabashed. "I've got half of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ memorized. Why are you taking the subject? Do you need it for whatever you plan to do after Hogwarts?"

Remus nodded as they came to a pause amid a gaggle of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, and a couple of Slytherins, all waiting for Professor Kettleburn. "I've always had a passion for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and that includes learning all about dark creatures and how to handle them. And, I find myself fascinated by all manner of creatures."

"Defense Against the Dark Arts... Are you considering becoming an Auror, then?" Melody asked.

Remus smiled wistfully, shaking his head. "I don't think I'd really ever have the qualifications to become an Auror. I was thinking more along the lines of teaching, myself."

Melody looked at him thoughtfully, wondering what had happened to him that had resulted in so many scars marking his worn, though handsome, face. "I think you could do anything you want to, Remus."

Remus looked slightly surprised to hear her say that, but he smiled gratefully. "That's very kind of you to say."

Professor Kettleburn emerged from the trees within the Forbidden Forest, and addressed the class in a chipper, though slightly frail, voice.

"Welcome, welcome all," he said, with an extra nod towards Melody. "For the first half of the semester in this N.E.W.T.-level class, we will be studying all manner of winged equine creatures, the likes of which are classified by the Ministry to be too dangerous for students to study before they have taken their O.W.L. exams."

Melody let out the tiniest of excited squeals, which was still loud enough for Remus to raise his eyebrows at her. She grinned helplessly—winged horses were quite possibly her favorite type of magical creatures.

"You will learn how to properly identify, approach, and care for these creatures. Following this unit, we will go over a number of dark creatures; I will alert you to the nature of each during the class before, so that you may properly prepare for confronting them."

Remus smiled and imitated Melody's excited squeal so well that she almost laughed aloud, deciding instead to smack him lightly on the arm. Her boldness in touching him, even in this small way, startled her enough that she gasped. The sound was, thankfully, very quiet; and therefore went unnoticed by even Remus, who was nearest to her.

"If you'll follow me, please." Professor Kettleburn led them a little ways into the forest, and the class of about ten people trooped in after him. They emerged in a clearing that contained a couple of piles of raw meat, clearly placed to attract whatever creature they would be studying for the day. Melody had a feeling she knew what was coming, and her suspicions were confirmed when a skeletal, winged black horse emerged from the trees, picking its way delicately towards the chunks of meat. It bent its head down and tore a mouthful away, languidly regarding the students as it chewed bloody chunks of flesh.

Two more thestrals threaded their way through the trees, and Melody could see from the other students' reactions that one of the Hufflepuff girls and both of the Slytherin students could see the thestrals, too. The others were looking in all the wrong directions, until a short Ravenclaw girl gasped and pointed at the meat that, to her, was floating in midair and disappearing with bite marks torn into it.

"Yes, can anyone tell me what we are looking at? Some of us, that is," Professor Kettleburn chuckled.

"Thestrals, sir," Melody blurted out, almost forgetting to raise her hand. "They pull the school's carriages."

"Correct!" Professor Kettleburn moved nearer to a thestral, allowing it to sniff his hand. "And why is it that only some of you can see them?"

Remus raised his hand, and the professor nodded at him. "Only those who have seen and understand death are able to see thestrals."

"Right! Take ten points combined, to Gryffindor, you two," Professor Kettleburn said, patting the thestral gently. "And, would someone describe these creatures to those who cannot see them? You should also be able to find a description within your textbook, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."

Students opened their bags to get out their copies of the book, and the Hufflepuff girl described what the thestrals looked like; her eyes large as she watched the horse-like creatures.

"Five points for Hufflepuff, good," Professor Kettleburn said. "Go on closer if you like, they won't hurt you. I'll give you a little history about thestrals, and how we came to have a herd of them working at this school."

With the professor's go-ahead, Melody stepped quietly towards the nearest thestral; marveling at how its head looked so much more like a dragon's than a horse's, and how leathery its great wings were. It looked calmly up at her as she approached, and then, before she had even reached towards it, the thestral stretched its neck towards her, nuzzling at her shoulder.

"Are you sure you've never handled a thestral before?" Remus asked, smiling, as he stroked its withers. Professor Kettleburn was providing facts about thestrals in the background.

"Quite sure," Melody assured him, pressing her forehead against the creature's with a sigh. "I've just always loved horses and horse-like creatures; they seem to take a liking to me—and I love anything with wings, too. If I could live in the sky, I would."

"In the sky... Away from all the troubles down here, untouched by earthly worries. Unfettered, with nothing to hold you back... Yes, that would be nice," Remus agreed quietly.

Melody glanced over at him. He was looking at the thestral with a slightly sorrowful expression. "Are... Are you all right?" she asked uncertainly.

It took him a second to answer her, but when he did, he smiled as lightly as usual. "Yes, of course."

* * *

They headed back to the castle together for Transfiguration, where they met up again with James and Sirius, who were still complaining about how much homework they'd been set. Melody was still so enraptured by the thestrals that her animated description of them quite distracted the boys from their woes, and led to Sirius reiterating once again how adorable he found her.

Their last class of the day was Herbology, where they were introduced to a number of surprisingly dangerous plants. On their way back to the castle from the greenhouses for dinner, James was still cursing colorfully after having been seized from behind by a particularly vicious Venomous Tentacula plant.

When they got to the common room, there was a bit of a holdup near the entrance; and Sirius had to elbow a few third years out of the way to get inside.

"Ah, that's why," he said, pausing at the notice board and nodding sagely. "Oi, you lot, move over."

A few little second year girls blushed and scurried out of his way, making room for James, Remus, and Melody to see what all the fuss was about.

"Quidditch tryouts, this Saturday! At last," James exclaimed. He rounded on Melody. "You're going to—"

"Well, of course I am," Melody interrupted him with a grin. "Why are Gryffindor's tryouts coming up so soon?"

"I expect it's because the first match of the season will be Gryffindor versus Slytherin, and they'll want to get training in for the new players before then. The game is scheduled for the end of the month," Remus said, a line of worry etched into his brow. "The twenty-eighth, to be exact."

This date seemed to have some sort of significance to the boys, as Sirius and James glanced at each other for a moment. However, the moment of solemnity passed so quickly that Melody wasn't even sure it had happened.

"We'll work it out, mate," James said cheerfully. Melody wanted to ask if it was someone's birthday or something, but she got distracted by another couple of students jostling to get past her. She pulled out a sheet of spare parchment, to write down the time the tryouts were being held.

* * *

Melody clutched her broom, only slightly nervous as she waited her turn. The Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch was slightly more impressive than the one at Ilvermorny, and many of the students who had gone before her were fairly good flyers. There were only two other people trying for the position of Seeker, as most of the others had been going for Chaser or Keeper.

James had made it back onto the team without issue; out-flying all of his competition and scoring nine of the ten goals he'd attempted against the current Gryffindor Captain, who played Beater. For the Seeker tryouts, the Captain was releasing a Golden Snitch, giving it a ten-second start, and then having each would-be Seeker chase after it, one at a time. After each person had gone once, he would have the faster two go at the same time, to see who could catch it first.

The person before her, a stocky fourth year boy, touched down after catching the Snitch. He had done it in good time, but Melody knew she could do better. The Captain nodded to her, and she mounted her broom, itching to kick off. The Snitch was released, and ten seconds ticked by in what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Melody was given the signal, and she sped towards the Snitch.

It was zig-zagging in front of her, but Melody instinctively had a feeling that it was going to dart left, and it did—but she was ready for it. She had dipped down and to the left, speeding upwards to snatch it out of the air right as it began veering in her direction.

Melody returned the Snitch to the Captain, and the boy who'd gone right before her was dismissed. She positioned herself beside the other Seeker, the first boy to try out, and took a breath, steeling herself. If there was anything in her life that Melody was completely confident about, it was Quidditch.

The Snitch was released once more, and, after a ten-second spell, she darted into the air, followed closely by her competition. It zipped in and out of the stands, buzzing around the ears of the onlookers who'd come to watch the Gryffindor team tryouts. Melody noticed vaguely that Regulus was among them, sitting with a couple of other Slytherins; but the information didn't really register—her mind was completely in the game.

Melody arced over the other boy, diving diagonally to spin him out of the way and gain an advantage on the Snitch. With an extra burst of speed, she had it enclosed within her fingers once more.

A cheer rose up from the Gryffindor section, where Sirius was stamping his feet against the stands, and Remus was applauding beside him. James gave a big whoop, and ran over to her, clapping her on the back as the Captain welcomed her to the team.

"Knew you'd do it!" James exclaimed as they headed back to the castle with Sirius and Remus.

"You looked like a little scarlet bird, flitting about up there," Sirius raved, spreading his arms to imitate wings. "I'd say you flew as good as Prongs, if not better!"

James scowled at him before grinning and addressing Melody. "First practice is Thursday night. We want to get in at least two sessions before the first match, since we've got three new players. But all the new blood did really well out there today, so I'm feeling good about our chances of winning."

"We'll be there to watch you practice," Sirius assured them, slinging an arm around Remus's shoulders. "Unless Remus here decides he'd rather do homework than see our pretty bird in the sky. And James, of course."

Remus's mouth twitched into a smile. "I suppose I can bring my homework along with me."

"Excellent!" Sirius barked. "I'm starved."

"You're starved?" Melody said bemusedly, thinking of how hard she and James had worked since dinner. "I don't know if I'll last until breakfast."

"Well, we're gonna nick some food from the kitchens, of course," James said as though this was an obvious fact.

"Really?" Melody was impressed, but tried not to show it. "And how do you suppose you're going to do that?"

"We will be doing what we always do," Sirius said, emphasizing the word on purpose. "If you want a bedtime nibble, little one, you've got to come along. We're not gonna do your dirty work for you just 'cause you're pretty."

"Well..." Melody's stomach growled loudly, and she gave in, laughing lightly. "Then I guess I'm coming along."

"What about you, Moony? You game?" James asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, I don't see why not," Remus said with a smile.

They made it back to the common room, where Melody and James hurried up to their dorms for quick showers. When they were ready, the foursome clambered back out of the portrait hole, looking unassuming as they went down a few floors.

"Where exactly are the kitchens, anyway?" Melody wondered as they kept going down flights of stairs.

"You must be patient and unafraid of toil if you want to reap the rewards, little one," Sirius said mysteriously. They paused at the end of a corridor to make sure that no one else was around, and then continued forwards.

"Hmmm..." Melody remembered that patience had been listed as one of the values of Hufflepuff House. "Are we going to the Hufflepuff common room?"

James nodded approvingly. "Quick, this one," he said, jerking a thumb towards her. "Close, but no cigar. You'll see very soon."

They rounded on a large portrait of a fruit bowl, and, after glancing around once more to be sure they were alone, Sirius reached forward and tickled the pear. To Melody's surprise, it squirmed, giggled, and transformed into a green doorknob, which Sirius turned to reveal that the portrait was, in fact, concealing a door.

They went inside, emerging in a large room with five tables placed identically to the ones in the Great Hall, which Melody realized was probably directly above the kitchens, several floors up. Everywhere, little house-elves went about preparing food for the next morning, sweeping the ashes by the grand fireplace, or folding linens for the common rooms.

Some of them exclaimed happily when they saw the young students, and one hurried forward, beaming. "It is good to see you again, sirs! We was wondering when Master Potter, Master Black, and Master Lupin would be returning to the kitchens this year, and we see that they have brought a new friend, as well!"

"Melody Wright," James said, introducing her with a grin. "It's good to see you, too, Oddy!"

"How may we serve the young sirs and miss tonight?" the elf called Oddy squeaked excitedly.

"Well, Melody here was feeling a bit peckish after Quidditch tryouts, and I've got to say, I could use a bite myself," Sirius explained cheerfully. He had barely finished talking before several elves were running up to the four of them, bearing trays laden with sandwiches, leftover treacle tarts, fresh fruit, and piles of thickly-cut fries, although Melody remembered that they were called chips in Britain.

"You're all too kind," Remus said, smiling at the nearest elf, who squeaked and bowed so low that the tip of his nose touched the ground.

"It is an honor to serve kind students such as yourselves!" the elf exclaimed. A number of elves packed the food up neatly, and Melody was going to ask how they'd get it all back to Gryffindor Tower without people asking questions, when James pulled a glittering, beautiful bundle of fabric from within his robes and spread it over the parcels of food, tying it up neatly. Almost instantly, the fabric disappeared, rendering it and everything underneath it completely invisible.

Melody gasped. "Is that a real Invisibility Cloak?"

"Right as rain," Sirius said happily. He and James lifted it between them and waved farewell to the house-elves, who were still bowing and waving when the door swung shut.

"It may be invisible and all," Melody noted, "but it still looks rather suspicious, the two of you walking like that as though you've got something heavy between you."

"You have much to learn," James admonished. He and Sirius led them to a tapestry at the end of the corridor, and James extracted his wand, tapping the tapestry with a flourish. Sirius pulled it aside to reveal a hidden stairway.

"Leads straight to the seventh floor," Sirius said smugly.

Melody blinked. "If that's true, then why did we walk all that way to get down here instead of using the secret passage?"

"Wanted to keep up the suspense, didn't we?" Sirius said matter-of-factly. "You need to develop a flair for dramatics, little one."

Remus chuckled at the expression on her face, and they went up the stairs, making certain to close the tapestry behind them with a tap of Remus's wand.

* * *

In Charms class, they had begun working on turning vinegar into wine. Professor Flitwick explained that, although it seemed to be more of a Transfiguration spell than a Charm, they were in fact reverting a naturally occurring property within the vinegar, rather than changing it from one thing into another. They were attempting the charm using white vinegar, since it was easier to tell a difference between it and the color of wine than it was to differentiate between brown vinegar and lighter-toned red wines.

Melody was seated with Remus, James, and Sirius, a row behind Lily. James had chosen this row on purpose, sneaking glances at Lily instead of listening to what Professor Flitwick was saying.

Almost immediately after the class set to work, Lily's vinegar went from a sour, pale color to a rich deep burgundy; its aromatic scent carrying across the room from within its uncorked glass flask.

"Oh, well done, Miss Evans!" Professor Flitwick squeaked happily. "Of course, I should have expected nothing less from such a consistent student! Five points to Gryffindor!"

Remus was working steadily; his brow furrowed in concentration. On his other side, Sirius kept dipping his finger into the vinegar, checking to see if it had changed, and immediately pulling a disgusted face as he tasted pure vinegar each time.

Melody was having trouble producing anything stronger than a weak tea. By the end of the class, Remus had managed to perform the charm correctly, and Melody had managed to produce grape juice. She was glad, at least, that her vinegar had not turned to ice; like the unlucky Hufflepuff boy whose wand-tip had gotten stuck in the now-frozen vinegar. Professor Flitwick had to thaw it out; and in the final few seconds before the bell rang, James stopped doodling "I heart Evans" on the corner of a piece of parchment and almost lazily pointed his wand at his vinegar, turning it into a perfect cabernet before handing it in for grading.

Sirius hadn't done as well as Remus or James, and he, along with Melody and most of the class, were told to practice the charm before the next lesson.

"I swear mine did change," Sirius insisted, grinning as they trooped along to the Great Hall for dinner. "It's just that it turned into a _white_ wine, so it wasn't as noticeable."

"Right," Remus said wryly. "That must be why you kept wincing every time you tasted it."

"Melody," a voice said from behind them; and Lily fell into step beside her as James goggled at them. "I noticed that you were having trouble with the wine charm. I can help you with it if you'd like," she said kindly. "And I was hoping you'd help me with today's Transfiguration spell; you did it so well in class—those little robins you conjured up were so sweet."

Melody smiled, glad that Lily was reaching out to her. They lived in the same room, of course, but Lily was often with their other two roommates, and Melody was often with the three boys, so they didn't spend much time together—but Melody thought Lily would make a wonderful friend; and it might be nice to have a female to talk to every now and again.

"Of course! I'd be glad to trade off," Melody agreed. Lily smiled and gave her a wave as she continued on, ignoring James's winning smile and neglecting to acknowledge the kiss he blew her. As soon as she was out of earshot, James rounded on Melody, a pleading look on his face.

"You've got to do _something_ ," he moaned. "You may be my best bet at scoring a date with Lily Evans."

"I can't make her do anything she doesn't want to," Melody said, shrugging.

"At least tell her I've matured, or something," James said. "That's reasonable, right?"

Melody giggled; the sound of which made Remus's mouth twitch into a small smile. "I haven't known you long enough to be able to judge that, James. But if you come up in conversation, I'll try to highlight your better qualities."

"Thank you!" James exclaimed, patting her on the head. "You're the best."

Melody scowled, but it turned into a smile as she fixed her mussed hair with one hand.


	4. Remus's Condition

[ **A/N:** This may be my second-to-last or last chapter for a while. I might post some drabbles or one-shots for other fandoms, but Melody's tale will take a pause for a while. Thanks for reading!

To my first guest reviewer: Thanks for your review! I would have replied personally, but as it was a guest review, I'll have to include it in this A/N.

I'm sorry that this isn't the type of story you prefer to read, but I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.

As I already stated in my very first A/N in the very first chapter, I _know_ that there are many stories like this out there already, and I _know_ that Peter was an integral part of the Marauders, and that his friendship was very important to all of them. However, I chose to write an OC instead of tackling Peter's character because that's simply what I felt like doing.

I think whether or not a fanfic author decides to include or exclude characters from the literary world in question should be up to the author, not a random reviewer who appears to think that they are better qualified to make suggestions about these things. And, in response to your opinion of Melody, even a lot of _canon_ characters have Mary-Sue elements to them-it's almost impossible to write a female without someone pointing out the Sue-like characteristics she exhibits.

Hopefully, there's a story out there that will suit your tastes-I'm not writing this with the hopes of becoming the next J. K. Rowling, or with the intention of making some well-lauded, impeccably canonically accurate, novel-length, prize-winning quality Marauders tale that every fan will talk about for years to come. It's simply a story that's been in my head that I'm putting to paper and decided to share. Everyone has different preferences, and even though this particular fic doesn't appeal to you, hopefully there's someone out there who enjoys reading it as much as I enjoy writing it :)

* * *

Melody put the tip of her quill in her mouth absentmindedly as she tried to think of a subject for the next paragraph for her Transfiguration essay on human transformations. In the comfy armchair across from her, Remus was reading a chapter of Advanced Potion-Making, and James and Sirius were on the couch by the fire, having a friendly debate about why it was impossible to conjure food out of thin air.

Having finally come up with a topic, Melody mentally smacked herself, smiling as she started scribbling away. Obviously she could write about Animagi—it was the most complicated form of human Transfiguration, and she did know rather a lot about it—not that she was going to write her biggest secret in her essay, for Professor McGonagall and everyone else to know.

"Um, excuse me?"

Melody lost her train of thought, looking up to see a red-faced second year boy standing nervously at the edge of her armchair.

"I'm to give you this," he said quickly, thrusting a piece of parchment tied with violet ribbon at her.

"Thank you," Melody said, accepting what must have been an invitation from Slughorn with a kind smile. The boy blushed even harder and hurried away, tripping slightly on the edge of his robes as he went.

Melody noticed Sirius chuckling as she noted the date and time for the first Slug Club dinner of the year. "What?"

He imitated the younger boy, stammering as he gazed at Melody, open-mouthed, holding out a piece of scrap parchment rolled into a tube.

Melody scowled, chucking her invitation at his head. Sirius ducked out of the way, and James caught the parchment easily, setting it down on the couch. "Be nice," she chided. "He was probably shy, or something."

"Or something," James repeated, grinning. "He's not the only one who can't help staring, you know."

Melody laughed aloud. "What are you talking about?"

Sirius stroked his chin, pretending to be deep in thought. "Well, let's see," he began in a pompous tone of voice. "You're a very pretty girl who's not only new to Hogwarts, but comes all the way from America; one of the most interesting places a person can come from. You've got an adorable accent, you hang around the most handsome and popular gents in the school—" he gestured to himself, James, and Remus, who was still looking at his book, but sitting very still, no longer scanning the pages he was staring at—"And you've just made the Gryffindor Quidditch team after a splendid tryout; not to mention that you've already been picked for Slughorn's special society. So, it's no wonder that half the lads in this school can't take their eyes off you every time you float down the halls. I'm surprised you haven't had a different date every night since you arrived here."

"I don't float when I walk," Melody grumbled, turning slightly pink. She had noticed some of the staring, but had assumed it was because she was a new student—not because so many boys thought she was pretty.

"You are very graceful, though," Remus said without looking up from his book, so quietly that Melody didn't think James or Sirius heard them from where they were sitting; already joking about something else. She found herself quite unable to speak, and put her head down, busying herself with her essay.

* * *

In Defense Against the Dark Arts, they were working on nonverbal defensive and offensive spells. So far, no one had been able to Stun their partner without muttering "Stupefy" under their breath, and no one had been able to successfully shield themselves from a Stunning spell without saying "Protego" aloud—Sirius had gotten so excited once that he actually yelled the incantation, successfully diverting Melody's whispered Stunner, which had whizzed over the top of Professor Dragoon's head. He'd just shaken his head with a sigh, and took up a spot behind another group of students, where he was quite out of Sirius's line of fire.

Remus finally cast a successful silent Stunner at James, who landed on the cushions that had been spread around the room for the safety of the students. Melody clapped for him along with some of her peers, and Professor Dragoon scurried over to revive James, awarding five points to Remus for being the first to achieve the spellwork correctly.

Melody felt someone standing very close to her, and she looked over her shoulder to see Bertram Aubrey's looming figure. "He did all right at Stunning Potter, but I'm better at the Shield charm," he said loftily, as though trying to be casually impressive. "I've already done it nonverbally, but Professor Dragoon wasn't looking."

"Good for you," said Melody with a noncommittal shrug.

"I hear you made the Gryffindor team," Bertram went on. "I look forward to facing you in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw's first match."

"Well, that won't be for another few months," Melody replied. Across from her, Sirius was scowling at Bertram, waiting for him to leave so that they could resume practicing.

"That's true. At least we get to see a lot of each other in classes," Bertram said with a winning smile.

"Uh-huh." Melody shifted into a dueling stance, hoping that Bertram would take it as a cue to leave. He didn't.

"I'll be watching your match against Slytherin, that's for certain," he informed her.

"So will the rest of the school," Melody said breezily. Sirius was looking rather annoyed, and he raised his wand surreptitiously.

"It'll be hard for me to focus on the game, though, with you up there—" he didn't finish, ducking angrily as a jet of red light shot past his shoulder.

"Sorry! I was aiming for Melody," Sirius said with a rogueish grin. Bertram skulked away, frowning, and Melody grinned, pointing her wand at Sirius to try and Stun him without whispering aloud.

* * *

Melody arrived at Slughorn's little dinner party in his office; wearing a set of soft pink dress robes with lace sleeves that belled out like delicate flower petals from her elbows to her wrists. She hesitated at the door, but Slughorn caught sight of her and waved her in jovially.

"You're right on time, my dear! Come on in!"

Melody entered the room and sat at the oval-shaped table next to Lily, who smiled brightly at her. She was surprised to see Severus sitting, hunched slightly, at the end—he hadn't been at the first gathering of the Slug Club on the train. Then again, he had been doing so well in Potions class, outperforming everyone except for Lily—who sometimes did as well as him, or slightly better—that it really wasn't too much of a surprise that Slughorn had invited him.

During the meal, Slughorn made inquiries about the students' relations and informed them about the well-being of his connections at the Ministry and whatnot. He asked a fourth year Ravenclaw boy about his father, who was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and praised the most recent performances of another student's famous relative, a Welsh singer named Celestina Warbeck. Melody listened politely, and they had reached a palate-cleansing dessert of lemon ice before he got to her.

"And you, Miss Melody; I see that you have made the Gryffindor team, as I had expected! Congratulations," Slughorn told her with a smile. "Oh, but of course you'll be facing my boy Regulus! I do hope you'll understand I'll be rooting for Slytherin; House loyalty, and all that."

"Of course, Professor. And I do hope you'll understand I'll be celebrating with Gryffindor when we win. House loyalty, and all that," said Melody, smiling innocently. Beside her, Lily laughed in surprise, and there was a ripple of laughter among the other students as well. Severus remained staring resolutely at his plate, not even cracking a smile.

Slughorn chuckled heartily. "Cheeky, this one!" he exclaimed, turning to Regulus and elbowing him with a raised eyebrow. "It's no surprise that you get on well with dear Lily here. She was just telling me the other day how you helped her with some tricky Transfiguration work."

The two girls smiled at each other. Melody had been spending a little bit more time with her bunkmate whenever James and Sirius were off somewhere, up to no good, and Remus was shut up in his room, studying feverishly even though he was undisputedly near the top of all of his classes. Lily was a very nice girl, with a quick wit and a kind heart, and Melody felt that she had lucked out with all of her closest friends at Hogwarts. She was, of course, friendly with other students as well; but if she had a choice to hang out with anyone in the school, it would certainly be Remus, Sirius, James, and sometimes Lily.

"And Severus," Slughorn went on, addressing the sallow-faced boy who seemed like he was trying to blend in with his seat. "You've been shining quite well in Potions; even better than you have in the past! I'm quite impressed with your work, my boy. Tell me, have you already given that Lucky potion a go? Or, are you saving it for a rainy day?"

"You could say that," Severus said in a voice that held a tinge of bitterness. His dark eyes darted almost imperceptibly in Melody and Lily's direction; as they had been present when Sirius's mean-spirited jinx had resulted in Severus losing the prize he'd won just minutes after he'd acquired—although, neither of the girls had taken part in the duel, and Lily had been the one to halt the disagreement.

After they were finished eating and the table had been cleared away, the Slug Club members milled about, talking in a friendly manner. Slughorn was showing some of them a collection of photographs from previous years of Slug Club meetings, and Lily was laughing with some Ravenclaws, including a slightly scrawny girl whose wide eyes were magnified even moreso behind large horn-rimmed glasses.

Severus and Regulus were standing together, but not talking to each other. Steeling herself, Melody walked over to them, smiling in a friendly manner.

"Hello," she said brightly. "Good to see you again, Regulus."

He smiled slightly and inclined his head.

"Hi, Severus," Melody added tentatively. Severus's lip curled slightly, but he did not otherwise acknowledge her greeting.

"Ready for Saturday?" Regulus asked her. "I caught a glimpse of your team's training sessions. Everyone looks like they're in good shape."

"I'll feel ready until the second I mount my broom, at which point I'll probably feel like fainting or throwing up, but once I'm in the air I'll be fine," Melody said candidly. "Are you ready?"

"Ready as ever. You'll have to be on your toes if you want to beat me," said Regulus, raising his eyebrows. "I caught the Snitch in every game I played last year."

"So did I. Good luck," Melody said, offering her hand to Regulus. He hesitated for only a moment before grasping it, shaking her hand with a smile. To the side, Severus had edged away slightly, so that he wasn't so close to Melody. If his hatred of James and Sirius could not be helped, Melody hoped that she would at least be able to find herself on speaking terms with Severus. He seemed to be a rather lonely person, and Melody felt that everyone deserved the chance to feel like they belonged.

Melody left before Lily did, and arrived back at Gryffindor Tower on her own. When she climbed through the portrait hole, Sirius and James were playing Exploding Snap by the fire, and Remus was sitting near them, practicing the Lumos charm without saying the incantation aloud.

As they watched her walk in, however, Sirius gave a low wolf-whistle, and James grinned at her, his eyebrows raised high above his round glasses. Remus, distracted from his wandwork, allowed the light at the end of his wand to fade as he regarded her in her delicate pink dress robes. The boys had not yet seen her wearing them, because she had changed out of her school robes when they had already left for dinner, and she had then gone straight to Slughorn's office without running into any of the three.

Melody was quite sure that her face had become the same pink as her robes.

"You look like a princess," Remus said quietly, and Melody flushed even harder, surprised that he had been the one to give her such a compliment; rather than the always outspoken Sirius, or even quick-tongued James.

"Oh, th-they're just robes," Melody stammered, continuing past them so that she could change again.

Sirius started chuckling, but then his deck of cards exploded, setting fire to one of the sleeves of his robes. While they were distracted, Melody hurried away to her dormitory, very nearly tripping up the stairs in her haste.

* * *

With only one more day until the match, Melody found herself working extremely hard to get all of her homework done, so that she would not have anything to worry about over the weekend. James and Sirius had gone off together, innocently insisting that they were just going for an evening walk around the grounds. Melody was sitting in the common room with Remus, feverishly squeezing a final paragraph onto the last page of her Care of Magical Creatures essay.

"I can't recall," Remus said, frowning and rubbing his eyes with a yawn. "Is it Greek mythology that the name for the Abraxan breed comes from?"

"Roman," Melody reminded him, scanning through her book to be sure. "And the Granian Winged horse is named from Norse legend. Both are possible forms of corporeal Patronuses."

"Mmh."

Melody looked up, surprised by Remus's minimal response, and saw that he was nodding off; his chin against his chest. The flames from the common room's fireplace illuminated the shadows under his eyes; making him look even more pale and ill.

Tentatively, Melody pulled a Gryffindor throw blanket off of the couch and draped it over Remus, who was shivering slightly. She took his textbook from his limp hands, setting it on the table before it could fall to the ground, and settled back in her chair, determined to finish up her homework.

She could not stop herself, however, from looking up every few minutes to catch a glance at Remus's sleeping form. He did not seem well at all—was he working himself too hard in his classes? He had skipped more than a couple of meals to study; although, each time this had occurred, James had stubbornly stuffed an entire day's worth of food from the Gryffindor table into his Invisibility Cloak, lugged it all the way up to Gryffindor Tower, and confiscated Remus's books until he'd at least had a few bites to eat. Sometimes, Sirius had to threaten to physically shove handfuls of food down his throat before Remus would tear himself away from his work.

Although he was pale, sweaty, and shivering, Remus looked fairly peaceful in his sleep. It was only a few minutes later, when he began to wince and groan, that Melody began to worry.

"Remus?" Melody asked hesitantly, reaching out towards him. He shuddered, his eyes flying open; and he did not seem to recognize her for a moment.

"I... nghh." Remus threw the blanket off him and stood rather unsteadily. "It's a day sooner than I... I mean... I had better go to the Hospital Wing, I think."

"I think so, too," Melody said worriedly. "But you're mad if you think you're going alone."

Remus looked as though he wanted to protest, but he didn't have the strength for it. Breathing hard, he leaned heavily against the armchair.

"Come on." Melody set aside her nerves about being so near to him, and draped Remus's arm around her shoulders, so that he could use her for support as they walked. They had nearly reached Madam Pomfrey's office when James and Sirius came running towards the pair of them; concern apparent on their faces.

"It—We were studying, and he just started feeling ill, out of nowhere," Melody told them as they took Remus's weight from her, each with one of his arms around their shoulders. Remus was sagging heavily against them; his eyes unfocused and skin clammy.

"What time is it?" James asked anxiously.

"Nearly sunset," Melody told him, glancing from one to the other as the boys exchanged a meaningful look. "Why?"

"Just checking," said Sirius briskly.

"We'll take him the rest of the way," James said firmly. "Thank you, Melody."

"You were in the common room, weren't you? Why don't you go and make sure no one accidentally throws his homework away?" Sirius suggested in a tone that made Melody feel like he was giving her a command, rather than a suggestion.

"But, I... Is he going to be all right?" Melody's voice quivered as she watched Remus, who would have been doubling over in pain if the other two boys were not holding him upright.

James's expression softened slightly. "Yes, he'll be all right. We'll see you later."

Sirius, who was focused entirely on Remus, did not say goodbye to Melody as he and James helped Remus to the end of the corridor. Melody stood rooted to the spot, filled with fear and worry, and not knowing what to think.

"...a day early," she heard Sirius say in an anxious tone before they entered the Hospital Wing and were gone. Feeling as though her feet were made of lead, Melody walked slowly back to Gryffindor Tower, her heart beating so loudly against her ribcage that she felt it might break free.

She did not sleep that night; her concern for Remus adding a layer on top of the nerves she already felt about playing her first game for Gryffindor team. Melody lay awake all night, staring up at the ceiling as silent tears streamed down her cheeks.


	5. Black Versus Wright

[ **A/N:** Okay, I'm dedicating myself to writing at least a little bit on the weekends. I'm going to gradually post the chapters I've already written, and then updates will slow down when I start working on full new chapters for upload. Thanks for your reviews! Let me know what you think of this chapter! Re: Guest, I'm from the U.S., currently going to school in Chicago! It's pretty rad ^_^]

* * *

Still filled with anxiety after her sleepless night, Melody headed down to breakfast earlier than usual. In the Entrance Hall, she ran into one of the Hogwarts ghosts—a middle-aged man who wore a ruffled collar that looked as though it dated to several centuries back.

"I'm Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington," he said cordially. "I'm sure you've seen me floating about the castle, but I haven't yet formally introduced myself. I'm the resident ghost of Gryffindor, and I'd like to welcome you to Hogwarts. It might interest you to know that your distant ancestor, Bowman Wright, was born on the very day I died!"

"Really?" Melody raised her eyebrows, impressed. "What day was that?"

"October 31st, 1492," Sir Nicholas said solemnly. "A very good year—well, except for this, of course," he said, gesturing to his neck. "Glad to have you on the Quidditch team—I certainly hope Gryffindor will be able to win the Cup this year. We had a nice streak going until last year. Good luck to you!"

"Thank you, Sir Nicholas," said Melody, watching in awe as he glided away; a pearly-white and transparent sheen lingering slightly wherever he went. There had not been any ghosts at Ilvermorny, and so she was still adjusting to seeing them everywhere she went around the Hogwarts castle. Constantly running into Peeves, the resident poltergeist, had taken some time to adjust to as well; but he didn't mess with her too often because he seemed to be on good terms with James and Sirius, and even Remus, though the third boy was not so much of a troublemaker as the other two.

Her stomach twisted guiltily. Why was she off being fascinated by the ghosts when Remus was in agony, alone in the Hospital Wing?

Melody got to the breakfast table and, since James and Sirius were not there, ate alone; barely able to stomach a small portion of eggs and bacon.

About halfway through breakfast, the boys joined her at the Gryffindor table, sliding into the empty spots on either side of her. They looked tired, but seemed to be in good spirits.

"How is he?" Melody asked as soon as they had sat down.

Sirius and James glanced at each other, and then Sirius looked at her apologetically. "Remus still isn't feeling well," he said. "He's been restricted to—to the Hospital Wing, as usual; and Madam Pomfrey has said he's not allowed any visitors. He's got, er..."

"A condition," James finished for him lightly. "He gets ill really easily. Just about once a month, it seems. He should be fine in a couple of days. I wouldn't worry too much."

"Oh. Okay," Melody said uncertainly, thinking of the many scars that marred his otherwise handsome face. Before he'd gotten sick, she had really been hoping Remus would be well enough to be there for her first Quidditch match; so that she could finally feel confident in front of him, the way she always felt when she was flying on a broom—or in the air, in general. Now, she just wanted him to get better; and was sick to her stomach with worry, despite James and Sirius's reassurances. "Will you—will you tell him I hope he feels better soon, if you see him before I do?"

"Of course," Sirius said sincerely. He squeezed her hand in a friendly manner. "I'm commentating the match. I'll be cheering so loudly, he'll probably be able to hear me from his sickbed."

Melody felt slightly better. "All right." She smiled and managed a few more bites of food, while James and Sirius wolfed their plates down as though they had not eaten in days. When they were done, Melody followed James out to the changing rooms, where they would prepare for the match before the spectators arrived to fill the stands.

Cheers erupted from the audience as the Gryffindor team zipped out onto the pitch, adorned in scarlet and gold. Across from them, the Slytherin team looked imposing in green and silver. Most of them were sneering at their opposition, but Regulus merely raised an eyebrow at Melody, who cracked a small smile.

Below them, Sirius, at the commentator's stand, had just finished announcing the names of the players as they sped into the air. "We're looking forward to an exciting game, with a new Chaser, Beater, and Seeker for Gryffindor, and two new Beaters for Slytherin! Of course, we all know Gryffindor is the best, so I'm sure none of you lot will be surprised when the famed James Potter scores every goal, and our lovely new player, Melody Wright, catches the Snitch—"

"Mister Black," Professor McGonagall said primly, her nostrils flaring. Sirius grinned apologetically.

"And Madam Hooch has released the Snitch and the Bludgers—the Quaffle is in the air—the match has begun! James Potter, with the flawless, windswept hair, has immediately taken possession of the Quaffle, as we all knew he would. He passes to Murphy, who passes to Palmer—bugger it all, Palmer lets it slip through his fingers, Slytherin player Troy has it now, speeding towards the goal hoops—hit by a Bludger from Gryffindor Captain Barnes right as he shoots; that's gotta hurt! It's an easy save for Gryffindor Keeper, Atkinson, and they're off again."

The match proceeded in this frenzied manner; each team gaining the upper hand only briefly before losing it again. Melody, however, was only half-listening as she flew in slow circles high above the other players, searching the skies for a glint of gold. Regulus was mirroring her, keeping one eye on her movements, and the other on the match.

"Blast it, Slytherin scores again, and—that can't be legal, you bloody troll-faced cheating tossers!" Sirius roared. After one of the Slytherin Chasers had scored, another had been waiting below, to catch the Quaffle as it flew through the hoop. She threw it easily to the third Chaser, who dunked it through the far right goal while Atkinson was still guarding the left.

"Mister Black," Professor McGonagall spluttered. "Language, please!"

But Madam Hooch did not award a penalty to Gryffindor—the move had been a dirty one, but it was not illegal. The score was now 60-80 in Slytherin's favor.

Regulus had now taken his attention completely away from the match, and instead flew in a zig-zagging pattern, occasionally putting on a slight burst of speed with the intention of baiting Melody into thinking he had seen the Snitch. This was a tactic Melody had faced before, and so she was not fooled; although she made sure to keep watching Regulus out of the corner of her eye, in case he really did see it.

There was a slight fluttering to her distant right, and Melody zoomed towards it, knowing instinctively that it was the Snitch. Regulus spotted it a fraction of a second later than her, and soon they were both speeding towards it. Melody had a slight lead, but Regulus was a good flier with a better broom, and was gaining quickly on her.

"The Snitch has been spotted!" Sirius yelled excitedly. "Wright and, er, Black are heading straight for it, with no sign of stopping, even though it appears to be hovering mere inches away from the crowd!"

The golden ball was flitting back and forth next to the stands, where spectators were cheering or hissing and watching in suspense as the two Seekers streaked through the sky; two indistinct blurs of reddish-gold and silvery-green. A Bludger came hurtling towards them—who it had been aimed at was not clear, but both Seekers dodged it expertly, without breaking their stride.

Melody and Regulus were now neck and neck, and Regulus was veering towards her, trying to cut her off as he sped towards the Snitch. Melody would not be deterred, and she stayed her course, which led to the pair of them leaning against each other, shoulder to shoulder, as they struggled to be the first to arrive. Each stretched out a hand, and it seemed as though Regulus's fingers were about to brush against the Snitch's wings—but at the last second, Melody leapt into the air, grabbing the Snitch and landing back astride her broom, which had continued moving forward when she was not on it.

The crowd went wild as Regulus pulled up sharply to avoid crashing into the stands, and Melody pulled a backwards loop-de-loop to do the same, holding the Snitch out in her hand as she soared over the pitch.

"Melody Wright has caught the Snitch! Gryffindor wins 210-80!" Sirius shouted, his voice slightly raspy from all the yelling he'd done.

After the match, Sirius ran out to congratulate James and Melody. Most of the spectating students had already trickled out, after clapping Melody on the back, or casting her sour looks, if they supported Slytherin.

"I'm going to change really quick, and then we can head back to the common room," Melody said with a flush to her cheeks, still feeling the adrenaline from flying so well. "Care for a game of Exploding Snap?"

"Oh, er—we've got a ton of homework to do," James said, spreading his hands in apology. "Been putting it off for too long."

"We'll catch up with you later," Sirius assured her, ruffling her hair. Melody watched the two of them go, deflating slightly. She'd just helped Gryffindor win the first match of the season... didn't they want to at least talk about the high points of the match? Maybe they were growing tired of her. She couldn't blame them—James, Sirius, and Remus had been best friends for nearly six whole years before she'd popped into their lives. Frankly, it would be odd if they _didn't_ ever want a moment on their own, without her.

Trying not to let it get to her head, and back to worrying about Remus now that the match was over, Melody changed out of her Quidditch robes and headed back to Gryffindor Tower alone. If Remus was allowed visitors, she'd be heading straight to the Hospital Wing right now. What sort of terrible illness was it, that Madam Pomfrey would not allow anyone near him?

"Oi, Wright girl," someone called over to her as soon as she got inside the castle. Bertram Aubrey was leaning against a statue in the Entrance Hall, clearly waiting for her. "Thought you'd never come back from the Quidditch Pitch."

"I would have had to come back eventually," Melody said matter-of-factly.

"True." Bertram brushed her comment off and got to the point he seemed to have been preparing to make. "You know, you're an excellent flier. Seems like you really know what you're doing on a broomstick."

"Well, I've been playing Quidditch for years, so I would hope I'd be decent at it by now," Melody said in the same tone she'd used before, although it was obvious what Bertram was playing at. She simply wasn't going to play along.

"The first Hogsmeade weekend is coming up," he went on, not even picking up the fact that she wasn't flirting back. "And I was thinking you'd have a much better time of it if you went with me, over anyone else of a _lesser caliber_ who might have been planning to go with you."

Melody folded her arms, wondering if Bertram realized he was only digging his grave by insulting her friends. "Is that so?"

"Mhmm." Bertram straightened up, no longer using the statue for support, and put on what Melody supposed he thought was a charmingly seductive smirk. "I was thinking we could start off at Madam Puddifoot's; get a hot chocolate and get comfortable. I'll show you around the town, and then at the end of the night, you can have a ride on _my_ broomstick."

Melody resisted the very strong urge to sputter in disbelief or hit him with a lovely Furnunculus curse, and instead started walking away. "I'll pass, thanks."

The look on Bertram's face was priceless—he obviously hadn't expected her to say no. "Wait, what? Why not?" he asked, a whininess creeping into his tone. He hurried to catch up, falling into step beside Melody as she began climbing the stairs. Bertram's voice deepened again, sounding smooth like it had before. "I can, you know... show you a few _tricks_."

"I'd rather not learn them from you," Melody stated calmly.

"Come on, surely you wouldn't rather spend time with those three misfits."

"Actually, I would."

"What, one man not enough for you?" he said with an edge to his voice, trying a different tactic. "Gotta have three at the same time?" Melody gave him a withering look, but didn't bother responding.

Bertram's eyebrows drew together angrily, and he reached for her arm, only to stumble in place. The Ravenclaw boy had gotten stuck in one of the trick steps.

"Bloody hell," he growled, almost losing his balance. "Aren't you at least going to help me out of this?"

"Don't see why I should," Melody said simply. She continued purposefully up the steps, leaving Bertram stuck on the staircase, to wait for another student—which wasn't likely, at this time of night—or for Filch to find him; the thought of which put a smile on Melody's face for the rest of the night.

* * *

Remus walked into the Great Hall after breakfast had already started the next day. Melody was so relieved to see him that she had to resist standing up and running to give him a hug. Instead, she had to wait patiently until he reached the table, taking the empty spot beside her.

He had a few fresh scratches along his face that were in the process of healing, but were clearly newer than any of his other marks and scars. "How are you feeling?" Melody asked anxiously; her inner mother hen taking over as she laid a hand across his brow without even realizing it.

Sirius and James, however, noticed this; and they shared a look that only the two of them could understand as Melody, embarrassed, removed her hand very quickly. She almost knocked over a goblet of orange juice in her haste, and resolved to sit with her hands folded tightly in her lap until she regained an ounce of coordination.

"I've been better," said Remus; a wan smile gracing his thin features. "But I'm all right; I promise. I get... ill... rather often, you see."

"They told me as much," Melody said, nodding across the table to the other two.

"I assure you, it's nothing to worry about," Remus told her, exhaustion apparent in his voice. "I hope you weren't up all night because of me. You look as though you've hardly slept—I don't mean that in a bad way, of course. You're still as pretty as ever."

This time, it was Remus who hesitated; embarrassed. James and Sirius looked at each other again, and Melody stared pointedly at her plate.

"Well... I _was_ rather worried. You were in such a state when I helped you to the Hospital Wing."

"Thank you again for that," Remus said quietly. "I wouldn't have made it there on my own."

Melody didn't know what else to say, so she started picking at her toast. James seemed as though he was about to say something, but he instead scowled at Bertram Aubrey, who was leaving the Great Hall with his nose in the air.

"Little git," he muttered.

"What have you got against him?" Melody asked, recalling the moment she'd met him in front of their first Potions class of the year.

"He tried to ask Lily out last year," Sirius said bemusedly. "She turned him down, but James still wouldn't have it."

"He's not good enough for her," James sniffed, taking a swig of pumpkin juice. "And he goes through the girls in our year like a goblin pawing through Galleons; he's probably dated them all by now. He might try the fifth years next. I'm surprised he hasn't asked you out yet," he said, meaning Melody.

"Oh, he has," Melody recalled. James spit his pumpkin juice back into his goblet, and Sirius's jaw tightened.

"He has?" Sirius asked in a strained voice.

Melody flushed slightly, but she shrugged. "Yes, after the match last night. He tried to sell me on getting cozy with a hot chocolate; said I could ride his "broomstick" afterwards, but I'm not st—"

"HE SAID WHAT?!" Sirius roared, loudly enough that students at some of the other tables turned to look at him in shock. "That foul-mouthed, DUNG-BREATHING son of a motherless Hippogriff—I'll HEX HIM INTO NEXT _TUESDAY_ if he so much as comes NEAR you—!"

Spots of color had appeared on Sirius's cheeks, and he'd half-risen out of his seat—but once his outburst was finished, he calmed considerably and sat back down, muttering about how much of a git Bertram was while James patted him on the back consolingly.

Melody's whole face displayed the shock she felt at witnessing Sirius's reaction. Beside her, Remus seemed calm, but his hands had curled into white-knuckled fists under the table when she'd described the way Bertram had asked her out.

James seemed indignant about Bertram as well, but he smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Mels; if any creeps ever mess with you, you tell us straight away. Not that you couldn't handle it yourself—we know you're smart and good with a wand—" he added, interrupting Melody's impending protest. "But just know you've got the three of us at your back, okay?"

"Okay," Melody said, trying not to let her voice sound so thick with emotion. What Bertram had said honestly hadn't bothered her that much—but knowing that these amazing boys, whom she'd known for so short a time, wanted to be there for her no matter what—it meant so much to her. Her fears that they had grown bored of her quickly faded away into nothingness.

"I hear you played very well in the match against Slytherin," Remus said mildly, unclenching his fists under the table. "I'm sorry I missed it."

"It's okay," Melody assured him. "I'm just glad you're on your feet again."

"Feeling up for Hogsmeade?" James asked him. Remus nodded, and Melody remembered that today was indeed the date of the first Hogsmeade trip of the year. She'd forgotten about it completely, what with the Slug Club dinner, the Quidditch match, and Remus falling ill so suddenly.

"Zonko's first, as usual," Sirius said decidedly, an excited smile slowly replacing the scowl he'd been displaying for the past ten minutes. "Then we'll have to pop in at The Three Broomsticks. Oh, and Honeydukes!"

Melody looked at each of them; glad that they were all smiling together again, even though Remus was looking as pale as she'd ever seen him.


	6. The Shrieking Shack

Zonko's Joke Shop proved to be a goldmine of joke products, and James and Sirius happily filled their pockets with as much as they could carry. Melody herself didn't buy anything, but she enjoyed watching the boys excitedly compare how many Dungbombs and Fanged Frisbees they had purchased.

Remus, too, was hanging back; leaning slightly against the wall and waiting patiently for the two troublemakers to finish up. Melody kept sneaking glances at him; to be sure that he was all right.

"Next stop, Honeydukes!" Sirius announced, marching outside as though he was a conductor. James marched pompously behind him, and Remus walked with one hand covering his face, shaking his head with a rueful smile. Melody grinned with a shrug whenever she caught the eye of an amused student passing by, or a villager with their eyebrows raised.

"I have a feeling you're going to love this place," Remus told her as they walked into Honeydukes, Sirius holding the door open for them in a gentlemanly manner. James strutted in, bobbing a curtsy to Sirius, who bowed extravagantly before letting the door swing shut in Bertram Aubrey's face. Bertram, who was on his way out, scowled back at them, but didn't bother doing anything else before he disappeared from view, followed by a fifth year Slytherin girl who was batting her eyelashes at him, clearly hoping he would hold her conveniently outstretched hand.

"I still can't believe he thought you would go out with him," Sirius said loftily as he perused a shelf full of sweets. "He's on an enemy team, not to mention that he's a git."

"He may be a git, but he's pretty attractive," Melody admitted. "He's smart, handsome, and plays Quidditch. If I hadn't dealt with guys like him before, and if I didn't know he's been through almost every girl in the sixth year, I probably would have accepted his offer."

James gasped indignantly at the thought of her dating a Quidditch player from an opposing team, and Sirius clucked his tongue in disapproval. Melody rolled her eyes, unaware that Remus's shoulders had drooped slightly when she was listing all of Bertram's better qualities.

"Sweets for the sweet," Sirius offered with an innocent grin, plucking an Acid Pop from the wall and holding it out to Melody.

"Oh, no," she said, pushing it away immediately. "Last time I had one of those, it took three days for the hole in my tongue to close up." Melody looked around, breathing in the myriad scents of the sweet shop with a smile. It was such an impressive array of candy that she didn't know where to start. "Where can I find the chocolate?"

"It's this way," Remus said, leading her to a wall filled with every variety of chocolate confection imaginable. There were dark chocolates and milk chocolates, chocolate bon-bons and giant slabs of chocolate, white chocolate sculptures and marbled bars in clear packaging, so you could see all of the marbling details, which were moving in slowly swirling, mesmerizing patterns.

Melody's mouth was hanging open, and she was pretty certain that she would start drooling if she didn't try something soon. They all left Honeyduke's with parcels bulging full of sweets, and headed next to The Three Broomsticks, an inviting pub full of students, witches, wizards, and a few interesting characters including a goblin, a witch wrapped in several bright scarves of varying colors, and a purple-eyed warlock.

The foursome found a table near one of the windows, and Sirius scooted in beside Melody, leaving Remus to sit across from her, with James facing Sirius. The barmaid, a pretty blonde lady who was probably in her late twenties, beamed as soon as she saw them.

"My favorite boys!" she exclaimed, bustling right over to them, even though there were a couple of other tables waiting, and Melody's group had only just arrived. "Always good to see you!"

"And you, too, of course," Sirius said, flashing her a charming smile. "Couldn't stay away from our Madame Rosmerta for long!"

She blushed prettily, shaking her head at his brash manner. "Oh! Who's this?" she asked, smiling down at Melody. "You've got to introduce me to your little girlfriend, Mister Black!"

Melody turned bright pink and found herself quite unable to correct Madame Rosmerta, but Sirius played along easily. "This is Melody, the girl from America! We're not officially a couple, so you probably shouldn't go spreading rumors; especially not when I'm still head over heels for you."

"Oi, watch it," James said good-naturedly. "She said _I'd_ be her first choice for a date if she were our age, remember?"

"That's only because you were the first to _tell_ her that she looked young enough to be our age," Sirius contradicted him. "Of course, _I_ was the first one to _think_ it. Potter here just managed to say it before I had a chance to."

Madame Rosmerta's tinkling laugh filled the air. "Oh, you boys are too much! Will it be the usual?"

"Yes, Butterbeers all around," Remus said mildly.

"Oh, of course, I haven't forgotten you, dear," she assured him, smiling gently at the quietest one of the group. "You're looking a bit peaky—oh, I don't mean that in a bad way, of course, handsome—are they feeding you enough up at the castle? Shall I bring a few Yorkshire puddings over as well?"

"That's quite all right; you don't have to go to the trouble," Remus began politely; but James nodded eagerly.

"Yorkshire puddings would be _lovely_ , ma'am."

"Anything for my boys." She winked at Melody and sashayed away, hips swinging easily—a movement that did not go unobserved by James, Sirius, and most of the males in the establishment. Remus, however, was glancing pensively out of the window. Melody followed his gaze and noticed an old building in the distance. It looked as though it had been abandoned for a long time, although she couldn't see it very well from where they were sitting.

"What's that building?" she asked tentatively, not even sure if that was indeed what Remus was looking at.

"Oh," Remus said, fiddling with a napkin on the table. "...That's the Shrieking Shack."

"They call it that because it's haunted," Sirius said seriously, in answer to the next question Melody was going to ask. "Very haunted. The villagers hear terrible screams coming from its depths now and again."

"Haunted, like by the kind of ghosts we have at Hogwarts?" Melody wanted to know.

"No, much worse," James said, all joking manner aside. "It's actually a really dangerous area. We don't even mess about there."

Melody was astonished. James Potter and Sirius Black, the bravest and boldest of Gryffindor House, were uneasy about an old shack? "You've never gone near there—not even on a dare?"

" _No_ ," said Remus so forcefully that Melody's heart skipped a beat in surprise. His tone was strangely harsh as he continued. "And _you_ should never go anywhere near that place, either. It's not safe." Melody wasn't sure why she felt like she'd just been given a three-pronged talking-to by Professor McGonagall, but she sat quietly in her seat until the Butterbeers and Yorkshire puddings arrived. When James and Sirius immediately reached for their moneybags, Madame Rosmerta flapped a hand at them, shooing their Galleons away.

"First Hogsmeade visit of the year! It's as much a treat for me as it is for you. Save your money and spend it on something nice, for someone special," she added with another wink before hurrying away to the next table.

* * *

By the time they got back to Gryffindor Tower, it was late enough that most of them were ready for bed. Melody bade the boys farewell, noticing worriedly that James and Sirius seemed to be supporting Remus up the stairs to their dorm room.

Melody knew that they did not owe her an explanation for what Remus was going through, and she didn't expect one. It simply hurt her heart deeply that he seemed to be in so much pain. She was glad, though, that James and Sirius were such good friends, and knew how to take care of him.


	7. The Marauder's Map

[ **A/N:** Hello! Sorry it's been a while. School really does get in the way of things. I have a couple more weeks off, so hopefully I'll be able to update at least one more time! I have one of the later chapters all written out beautifully-what I'm struggling with is writing what happens in between major plot points. Hopefully you'll enjoy this short chapter-and no, the Ball is not going to happen the same way it does in a million other fics. Cheerio!]

* * *

In Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Professor Dragoon had announced that they would be introducing a new technique into their curriculum. "The Patronus Charm is a very advanced branch of magic," he was explaining with difficulty over the excited titters of all the students. "However, it is very useful in that it is the only known way to repel a Dementor. It is also quite handy for sending messages, providing a luminescent source of magical light, and, to an extent, companionship."

"I can't believe we're going to learn Patronuses," Sirius whispered excitedly. "I read that the form your Patronus takes is based on your personality, but it can change if you undergo an extreme emotional experience—unlike Animagus forms, which don't change."

Remus raised his eyebrows, impressed at how well-informed Sirius seemed to be on the subject.

"Now, I don't expect anyone to be able to produce a corporeal Patronus on their first try," Professor Dragoon elaborated loudly.

"Bet I'll be the first to do it," James muttered to Sirius.

"You're on." They shook hands as Professor Dragoon continued.

"You may not even be able to emit much more than a few puffs of silver vapor for the first few weeks, but my goal is to have everyone more or less succeeding with this charm by the winter holidays. Whether or not you will be able to produce a corporeal Patronus—that is, a fully formed Patronus guardian animal—will depend on how diligently you work at this, and the strength of the memory you recall while incanting. All right, all right; let's begin."

* * *

It took everyone a while to settle down from the excitement of beginning to learn how to conjure Patronuses. In Charms class, James, Sirius, Remus, and Melody took up spots near a supply of feathers.

"Did you want to work on Patronuses tonight?" Melody asked the boys. It was easiest to talk in Professor Flitwick's class, since he did not seem to mind small conversations so long as they were still working. In today's class, they were reviewing Charm spells that they had learned in previous years of study, but attempting to do them nonverbally. Remus was already hard at work, levitating a feather into the air with a silent Levitating Charm.

"We can't," James told her, picking up a feather and twirling it between his fingers. "Double detention; both of us."

"What did you do to earn a double detention?" Melody asked, bewildered.

"Oh. Er," began Sirius with a guilty smile. "We may have hexed Bertram Aubrey the other day."

"His head was the size of a troll's foot by the time McGonagall found us," James said, grinning happily at the memory.

"He'll be fine for the upcoming match," Sirius said loftily, his feigned guilt melting away. "Just thought he needed a reminder that his head's a little too big."

Melody's eyes widened, and Remus shook his head in disapproval, but he was smiling.

"Anyway, who's excited for Halloween?" James asked. "Heard the feast is going to be excellent this year. Someone said they're going to have a Hallow's Eve Ball."

"Why would they have a ball this year? They haven't had them for any other reason the whole time we've been here," Sirius said scornfully.

"I think they're wanting to see how we fare with more formal functions," Remus said drily. "A lot of other schools incorporate conduct such as comportment, dance lessons, and classic traditions into their curriculums."

"What's the problem with Hogwarts not focusing on any of that?" Sirius asked, lazily flicking his wand at the pile of feathers, which all floofed into the air in a giant clump. "I don't think it really matters if Beauxbatons thinks we're a babbling, bumbling band of baboons."

"I've never been to a ball," Melody said thoughtfully. "It could be fun, especially if it's Hallow's Eve-themed."

"So long as they don't expect us to act all fancily, and if the food is still as good as ever, and if they play good music, I'm game," James said confidently. "I already know who I'm going with."

"I wouldn't count on attending the ball with Lily," Remus chuckled, glancing over at the redheaded girl who was summoning cushions across the room with ease.

"This time I've got a plan," James assured him, rubbing his hands together.

"I'm pretty sure she'll hex you senseless if you try to use magic on her," Sirius warned him with a grin.

"Padfoot, my old friend, I'll be relying on my own personal brand of Potter Charm; not paltry love potions or shoddy spellwork."

"Whatever you say, Potter."

* * *

A few days later, Melody sat alone in the common room, reading the communal issue of The Daily Prophet. She looked up as James and Sirius came down the stairs from the boys' dormitory, looking suspiciously innocent.

"What are you up to tonight?" Melody asked, catching sight of a shimmering fabric James was hastily stowing in his bookbag.

The boys paused on their way to the portrait-hole, and looked at each Melody imperiously, then at each other.

"What d'you reckon, Black? Shall we tell her?"

"We might as well, Potter. The jig is up by now, anyway."

"We're just going for a walk," they said in unison. Melody, curiosity piqued, dropped her newspaper on the plush burgundy seat and stood, arms crossed.

"All right. What are you really up to?"

The boys grinned. James looked around, making sure that no one else was in the common room, and then he pulled a rolled-up piece of parchment out of his bag.

"It's a little project we've been working on," he admitted. "Moony's in on it too. He'd be with us right now if not for the Prefects' meeting he'll be at all night."

Melody was sure the otherwise unassuming scrap of parchment had to be more than what it seemed. Smirking at her expression, Sirius pulled out his wand and tapped it against the parchment.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

With those words, tendrils of ink began to swirl around the page, forming a title page: The Marauder's Map. The parchment unfolded to reveal a diagram of the entire school, complete with little footprints to mark where every person in the castle happened to be. Melody spotted Professor Slughorn, stationary in his office, and caught sight of Remus's name; walking towards a grouping of footprints labeled with the names of students she knew to be the Prefects and Head Boy and Girl.

"This is amazing," Melody said honestly, bringing her gaze up from the makeshift map. How long have you been working on this?"

"Quite a while now; and we're not done yet," James told her somberly. "Tonight is a night for exploring and expanding—the map, that is."

"We found another secret passageway the other day," Sirius said excitedly. "We've got to add the schematics to the map."

"Care to join us?" James asked.

"I'd be honored," Melody said with a grin. "Do you keep track of where Filch is on that thing?"

"That's the first thing we made sure to do," Sirius scoffed. "Although, if things get tight, there's always James's cloak. We should all fit if we scrunch down a bit—it's easier with two, but three can manage if we're careful."

"Let's go," James said cheerfully. "Filch is miles away, and the nearest two corridors are empty."

The three friends clambered through the portrait hole, heading towards what would soon be the next addition to the boys' handmade map.


	8. A Still-Beating Heart

[ **A/N:** Happy New Year! Yes, it's been a year since the last update... and it's been a long year indeed. I'm on break from school for a few weeks, but I'm not sure if there will be another chapter up anytime soon. I promise that more chapters are coming, though. Hope you enjoy this one!]

* * *

James swaggered out of Transfiguration class, having completed the day's assignment with ease. He waggled his vibrant violet eyebrows at Lily, who rolled her eyes as she passed by.

Sirius, who now sported a well-trimmed goatee instead of different-colored eyebrows as had been the goal of the lesson, shook his head ruefully. "I still don't know how you expect her to go to the Ball with you. Halloween is this weekend."

"It's going to happen, Padfoot. Just you wait." He grinned at Melody and Remus, both of whom had managed to moderately lighten the color of their natural eyebrows. "What about you lot? I know anyone you manage to ask will pale in comparison to Lily Evans, but you've got to at least try."

Melody glanced at Remus, who was suddenly very interested in the Transfiguration book he was holding.

"We've already got that covered," Sirius chuckled, twirling his goatee between two fingers. "The three of us are going _stag_ , in honor of the glorious moment when Evans humiliates you and refuses your advances."

"I'm not sure if I'll end up going," Remus said quietly. "I think I may be coming down with something again. I don't know if I'll be well enough for an evening of revelry." Sirius and James exchanged a glance, but Melody frowned, concerned.

"Do you need to see Madam Pomfrey? Whatever it is, I'm sure she can help..."

"I'll be all right," Remus assured her. The foursome reached their Potions classroom and took up a pair of desks together, as usual.

"Today, we will be learning how to brew the Hiccoughing Solution," Professor Slughorn declared as he wrote some instructions neatly on the board in front of them. "Contrary to popular belief, the Hiccoughing Solution does not cure hiccoughs; it actually induces them. To reverse the effect, you'll have to recall the counter-charm; which you'll hopefully remember from your fifth-year Charms studies."

Melody nodded along as she took notes, but she was finding it harder and harder to concentrate in her classes, now that Remus seemed to be getting ill again. Sirius and James had said that this was normal for Remus; but surely it was neither normal nor healthy to end up in the hospital wing on a monthly basis.

Everything seemed to be fine, though, as the four friends trooped to the Quidditch Pitch to watch the match between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. The losing House would face Slytherin in just two weeks, while the winning team of today's match would face Gryffindor a week after that. Melody wanted to get a good feel for each of the teams, as she'd be facing one or the other very soon, so she'd brought some parchment to take notes on the players.

"This is Quidditch, Mels, not a Transfiguration exam," Sirius teased her good-naturedly as they settled into their seats in the stands.

"Oi, she could be on to something," James admonished. "Maybe little Melody will be our secret weapon for winning the next match; not that we usually have much trouble against Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. But she might just find an extra weakness we haven't noticed."

"You mean aside from Bertram Aubrey's infatuation with Melody, not to mention anything else with a pulse?" Sirius grumbled, scooping his arm around Melody's waist protectively.

Melody almost dropped her quill as Sirius's hand settled on her hipbone. "I think the two of you have more than scared him off for good," she pointed out, watching as Bertram flew past with his team, pointedly avoiding gazing anywhere towards the area Melody and her friends were sitting in, and nearly crashing into the stands in the process. "Shouldn't you be commentating?"

"I only commentate when Gryffindor is playing," Sirius sniffed. "I have standards, you know."

The match was only just getting underway when Remus, who had been exceptionally quiet even for him, cleared his throat softly and stood up. "I think I'll... I'm going back to the Common Room for a bit. Let me know how the match ends, will you?"

Sirius was immediately on his feet, studying Remus's face with concern. "Are you all right?"

"Do you need us to go with you?" James asked from where he sat on the other side of Melody.

"I'll be fine," Remus insisted, but Sirius insisted harder, and the two of them left James and Melody sitting in the stands. James seemed invested in the game, but he wasn't as cheery as usual; and as soon as it ended, he made a beeline for Gryffindor Tower, with Melody at his heels, instead of hanging around to chat with Evans. He bid Melody farewell a little _too_ light-heartedly; and by the time she made it back from the evening's Slug Club dinner, the Common Room was empty save for a couple of third years who were occupying James and Sirius's usual spots.

* * *

At breakfast, Melody was disappointed but not surprised to see that none of the three boys were around. She ate quickly before hurrying back to grab her Charms textbook, which was still lying beside her bed where it had been left the night before, after she fell asleep reading through next week's chapters.

She ran into Sirius and James, who were clambering out of the portrait-hole on their way to class.

"I think they're just about to clear up breakfast," Melody said regretfully. She glanced past them at the Fat Lady, who was waiting with her eyebrows raised to see if Melody was planning to step through. "Is Remus... Did he end up in the Hospital Wing again?"

"Don't worry about our old boy; he'll be spritely as a spring chicken in a couple of days," Sirius assured her with a yawn. "We just fancied a bit of a lie-in."

"And as for breakfast, we'll just pop in on Oddy and grab some snacks before Charms starts. So turn that frown upside-down, before you end up being late to class, Mel," James said, smiling wearily. "We'll meet you there."

Melody's brows drew together, and she was about to say something else when the Fat Lady cleared her throat expectantly.

"Sorry," Melody apologized, hastily mumbling "Jelly Slug" even though the entrance was already open. Sirius turned to wave as he and James left; stretching his arms high above his head in a yawn, and his shirt slipped up briefly from his navel—and Melody could have sworn she caught sight of several black and blue discolorations along his ribs; like he'd been pummeled and kicked for hours on end. As the portrait of the Fat Lady swung shut behind her, Melody had to steer herself to her room, knowing that she really _would_ be late if she dwelled on what could have possibly caused those bruises.

Melody arrived at dinner a little later than she meant to; having been engrossed in a project for Care of Magical Creatures. James and Sirius were already finishing up with their plates, and Remus was still nowhere to be seen.

"I've brought Remus's Care of Magical Creatures homework," Melody said, sitting down just as the boys were standing up.

"We'll put it with his books in our room," James assured her, accepting the bundle of parchment.

"Are you going to see him? I thought he wasn't allowed visitors," Melody recalled, but Sirius shook his head.

"I've actually got to make a stop at the Hospital Wing for my own sake," Sirius said ruefully. He lowered his voice. "Took a tumble down the stairs of the secret passageway when we went to nick some food before Charms. Seven flights of stairs are no joke, really—I've been putting it off all day, but my ribs could use some love from Madam Pomfrey."

Sirius ruffled her hair as he strolled away, whistling; and James waved goodbye, blowing a kiss to Lily, who was walking towards the Gryffindor table. "I'll see you at the Ball tomorrow, Evans!" She rolled her eyes at him and sat beside Melody.

"You look troubled," Lily said matter-of-factly as she helped herself to some of the autumnal spread of foodstuffs along the table. "Perhaps spending all your time with those two tosspots really has taken its toll on you."

Melody chuckled half-heartedly. "Maybe you're right." She ladled some squash soup from a nearby tureen into the bowl that was in front of her. "But he had those bruises before they went down..."

"Hm?" Lily asked, distracted by the roll she was buttering extensively.

"Nothing. Never mind," Melody said brightly. "Wow, the house elves have really outdone themselves tonight—everything is so colorful and... fall-y."

"Wait until you see tomorrow's feast," Lily told her. "They really go all out for Halloween."

"I had almost forgotten that was tomorrow," Melody admitted, slurping a spoonful of hot soup. "Are you looking forward to the Ball?"

"I was for about twelve seconds after it was announced, until Potter began bombarding me at every turn, showering me with invitations to be his date. Truth be told, I'll probably end up going alone."

Melody cleared her throat, nodding thoughtfully. "I'm sure more people would have asked you if James hadn't made it clear to the whole school that you're supposedly going to be his date."

"Oh, more people did ask me, but I think going alone will be more fun, anyway. I'd rather have my pick of dance partners. What about you? Any particular scholarly young men with grey eyes catch your fancy?"

Melody's cheeks flushed, and she coughed a little, attempting a smile. "I'm probably going to go on my own, too." She cleared her throat again, pausing as she brought her spoon to her lips. "Oh, no. This isn't squash soup."

"No, I think it's pumpkin," Lily said, tilting her head to peer over at the various tureens of soup. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm allergic to pumpkin," Melody sighed, pushing her bowl away and standing up.

"Uh-oh. Are you all right?" Lily asked concernedly.

Melody sneezed. "I'll be fine," she assured Lily, feeling her eyes begin to itch. "I've got a potion for it; it's in my trunk."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"There's no need," Melody assured her. "I won't, y'know, _die_ if I don't take it immediately—I just have to take it as soon as possible." She waved goodbye and walked quickly out of the Great Hall, taking the steps two at a time and hurriedly exclaiming "Sugar Quill" to the Fat Lady.

* * *

With a few sips of her allergy potion, Melody's symptoms subsided, and she was able to breathe normally. Melody sighed in relief, setting the potion bottle down and leaning against the windowsill for support, resting her cheek against the cool windowpane.

A movement down in the shadows of the grounds caught her eye, and she squinted into the darkness, wondering what it could have been. The gentle, pattering rain was obscuring most of her vision, but in a flash of lightning, she saw two indistinct figures bend over and transform into animals.

One of them, a large black dog, crouched low and began inching forwards towards the Whomping Willow; pausing every now and then when a low-hanging branch came too near to its head. A few times, the dog got caught in the ribs; and though Melody could not hear what was going on down there, she was sure it must have whimpered in pain.

When it finally reached the base of the Whomping Willow's trunk, the dog did something that somehow caused the tree's dangerously flailing limbs to freeze, as though struck by an Immobulus Charm. The other animal, something large with long horns of some sort, followed after the dog; and they disappeared underneath the tree. After a moment, its branches began to wave again, swinging dangerously as far as they could reach.

Melody had a feeling that she knew exactly who those two indistinct figures had been. Quietly, she undid the latch on the window. A few drops of rain spilled into the room, but she ignored them. Melody clearly envisioned her Animagus form, and transformed, turning into a delicate little robin.

The wind buffeted her back and forth as she flitted to the ground, soaking wet, but she made it. Her bird form's body was too small for the Whomping Willow to reach, so she hopped forward, easily reaching the base of the tree. Melody hesitated, not sure what she should do. It _had_ to have been Sirius and James who had transformed and then disappeared beneath this tree. Obviously, if she could illegally become an Animagus without anyone knowing, surely there were other people in the world who had done it, too. There _must_ have been a good reason that they had snuck off to some secret passageway under the Whomping Willow without informing anyone. Was it really her business to find out what they were up to? But, then again... This _had_ to have something to do with Remus and the fact that he was always ill.

Melody remembered how much pain Remus had been in the night she'd helped him to the Hospital Wing; how he always seemed to be tired, with fresh cuts across his face every time he returned from falling ill. If there was even the slightest possibility that she could help him, or understand him better by finding out what was wrong, then sneaking around in the dark after hours was worth it. She hopped into the opening that had been concealed by the many waving limbs of the Willow, and swooped down, flying for a little while before stopping in her tracks.

A terrifying sound was issuing from the darkness ahead of her. It sounded agonizingly heartrending; like something—or someone—was dying, or wished that they were close to death. Her little robin's heart beat madly against her frail chest as she crept forward. There was enough room for her to transform, but she felt that being small and quick, if she needed to get away, was safer. There was no telling what manner of creature she'd find in here.

As she drew nearer, the roars of pain were punctuated occasionally by a sorrowful dog whine, or the gentle scuffling of hooves pacing around a room. Melody held her breath, and poked her beak around the corner.

She could not have been prepared for what she saw. A werewolf tore around the room of a building that was run-down, abandoned, and worse for wear; scratching and biting itself in anguish. In the corner stood a beautiful stag, watching the werewolf with a doleful gaze; and near it, a large black dog lay with its nose on its paws, whining softly.

There was no doubt about it... even in werewolf form, the creature retained its grey eyes that were usually full of warmth and sadness, but now expressed nothing but agony and bitterness.

Remus.

Melody remembered at the last second that if she gasped, it would come out as a chirp that would echo through the empty corridor she was hiding in.. She edged forwards just a little bit more, but the dog raised its head, sniffing the air as it looked from side to side.

She backed away, flying back through the corridor as quickly as she could, and back out into the thundering rain. It was a struggle to reach the seventh floor, but she made it back to Gryffindor Tower—only to find that the window to her dormitory was closed and locked again; probably by one of her roommates, to keep the rain out.

Flapping her small wings desperately, Melody swooped along the side of the castle until she found a window that was slightly cracked open. She squeezed through it, exhausted; flitting inside with sopping wet feathers.

Melody transformed back into a human mid-flight, running down the hall with echoing footsteps until she had to stop and take a breath. Still soaking wet, she leaned against a tapestry she hadn't ever come across before, one of trolls dancing around in tutus, and slid down it until she was sitting on the floor in a growing puddle of rainwater.

Tears streamed down Melody's face; her eyes more swollen than they would have been if she had not taken her allergy potion after eating that bit of pumpkin soup. Her shoulders shook with sobs that she tried to keep quiet, in case Peeves or Filch and Mrs. Norris were lurking nearby.

How could she not have realized what Remus was going through? They had done an entire unit on werewolves in her Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures class last year at Ilvermorny. She was overwhelmed by the amount of pain—mental, emotional, and physical—that he must have to endure; not just once a month, but every day of his life! Having to be afraid of someone discovering his secret, or of hurting someone, and not even being able to enjoy something so simple as the light of the full moon...

Her heart hurt so badly for him that she felt it was surely going to break.

"I need..." she whispered to herself between hiccups and sobs. What did she need? Just a place to be alone; to think; to calm down, somehow.

 _I just need a place to calm down,_ she thought miserably. _I'll wake the entire castle if I keep blubbering like this._

There was a scraping sound behind her, and Melody scrambled to her feet, watching in wonder as a door materialized in the stone wall. It had definitely not been there before. Confused, but fascinated, Melody pushed the door open, and walked through.

She emerged in a quiet room tinged with relaxing scents like lavender and valerian, gently lit with salt lamps and draped with silk canopies. There was a bed with cushions, pillows, and blankets, and a nightstand that bore a heating pad, a jug of water, a pot of tea with a teacup, tissues, and a folded set of pajamas. Melody turned around to see the door melt away behind her.

Still shivering slightly and wet with a combination of salty tears and cold rain, Melody turned around again to see that there was now a full bathroom on the other side of the room, complete with a shower, soap, towels, and everything she might need for an overnight stay.

"Well... Crazier things have happened," Melody said quietly. Her voice sounded pitifully small and forlorn to her own ears. She numbly went through the motions of getting ready for bed, and found that tears were still streaming down her face as she fell asleep in the mounds of pillows and blankets that had so mysteriously appeared. Her dreams were few and fitful; filled with pairs of anguished grey eyes staring at her from the surface of the full moon.


End file.
